Perfect Games
by Wolf Rocket
Summary: It was supposed to be simple: go to Skyrim and find his friend. Except things are never that easy, not for this particular feline Dragonborn. Skyrim can only hope he takes the World-Eater down with him. Rated for Language and Violence
1. A Cat in A Dragon's Nest

**AN: **My first story on this site and the first fan-fiction I've written in a long time. Cheers :

**Chapter One: A Cat in a Dragon's Nest**

The Khajiit ran. All around him, the sounds of arrows slicing through the air and the crackling of flames could be heard. He stumbled but righted himself quickly before side-stepping to avoid running into a Whiterun guard, too focused on the dragon in the sky to dodge out of the cat's way. _First I almost get beheaded, then roasted, then hunted by wolves and then roasted again? _Perhaps the gods weren't on his side today. Perhaps they simply didn't care. He circled around the burning watchtower and ducked behind a piece of debris as another fireball cascaded towards him. It burst on his stone hiding place, causing a wave of heat to wash over him. His fur was singed but he was unharmed otherwise. _I should've picked a larger rock _he thought in hindsight.

Taking this chance to actually do some damage, the Khajiit pulled the hunting bow from around his shoulder and notched an arrow into place. He used the debris as cover and peeked over to see if the dragon was within range. The ancient lizard had landed at this point and it was snapping at some of the guards, managing to chomp off someone's arm in the process. _Uh oh _he regretted looking instantly as something throbbed in his stomach, causing him to hunch forward, abandoning his bow. He covered his mouth with both hands as he attempted to stop the bile from rising. He tried to steady his breathing which was difficult as he could still hear the dragon close-by and the screams of the guards who were unlucky enough to get too close to its jaws.

After what felt like a long time, he was able to prevent himself from vomiting. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked around. That's when he caught sight of Balgruuf's housecarl. Irileth was yelling something at him but he couldn't tell what until he looked back to check where the dragon was. _Oh... dear. _

His frost-blue eyes grew wide as the dragon opened its mouth, preparing for a fiery attack inches from the cat's face. There was nowhere – no time – to run. Except he didn't have to for at that moment an arrow zoomed past his ear, tearing an inch out of his flesh, before hitting home, right down the dragon's gullet. The beast made a horrible choking sound as its fire breath died with it and it collapsed, its head snaking upwards for a final cry before dropping onto the debris.

It was over so fast the Khajiit barely had time to process it before he was lifted up by the scruff of his neck to come face to face with a livid Dunmer. "What kind of a warrior are you? How did you manage to survive Helgen with such cowardly behavior?" the housecarl growled. She closed her eyes in frustration and dropped the Khajiit harshly on his rump. If it was possible, Irileth had even less respect for him now than she had when they first made eye contact.

"Actually," the cat began matter-of-factly while standing up and brushing the dust from his pants, "cowardly behavior is exactly what saved me in Helgen" He then picked up his bow and wrapped it around his shoulder again, keeping his gaze level on Irileth who looked as if she was going to slap him for his smart ass remark.

The elf didn't get that pleasure however as her eyes were drawn, along with the cats' and the eyes of the guards remaining, to the corpse of the dragon which had begun to burn up and flake. Soon a roar filled the air as a strange power seemed to lift from the dragon's skeleton. The power hung there for a moment before finding its target when it surged like a hurricane wind into the unsuspecting Khajiit. That's when he felt it, like a warm fire was ignited in his body and mind. It was like nothing he had experienced before, like some ancient knowledge had flown into him and for a second, he was at peace.

When the wind calmed however, the good feeling was immediately taken away as the Khajiit felt the gaze of the guards and Irileth focused on him. The men looked absolutely astounded while the elf looked more pissed than ever. There was an awkward silence as they all stared at each other, searching for confirmation that they'd all witnessed the same thing. Then one brave guard decided to speak up and say what the other guards were thinking, "Dragonborn... You absorbed the dragon's power! You must be Dragonborn"

The Khajiit stared blankly at the guard, _Dragonborn? _He felt like he was being told an inside joke that he wasn't in on. "I'm sorry but what exactly is Dragonborn?"

Irileth interrupted the guard before he could get a word out, "Enough of this foolishness. We are heading back to the city, it's getting dark and I need at least a keg of mead to forget this nonsense" she hissed, turning her back on the group before stalking off towards Whiterun.

The men made a move to follow the housecarl but the guard who had spoken was adamant on getting an answer. "Please, try shouting" he said, turning to the Khajiit again. The cat sighed, he really wanted to know what had happened and what it meant to be Dragonborn but he could tell Irileth was taking no more crap from him so ignoring her command to return home was not in his best interest. He shook his head at the guard before pattering after the Dunmer.

"I'm sorry" the Khajiit mewed as he caught up with the still seething housecarl. His ears were lowered in an honest attempt to be apologetic for his behavior.

Irileth huffed but kept her crimson eyes on the cobbled road. The sky was growing dark by then and the path was getting harder to see. The group picked up speed in order to make it back to the city before they couldn't see where they were going at all, not having brought any torches. The housecarl sped up even more than the others to avoid having to walk beside the Khajiit. Seeing this, the cat bowed his head and slowed his pace till he was a few lengths behind the guards. It was obvious his apology had been rejected and he couldn't blame her. He wasn't much of a fighter and he'd never had any formal training before coming to Skyrim. _Dragonborn, huh? I don't think so. _He kept his head and ears down and shuffled along, keeping his distance from the group.

Before long they had made it to the front gates, the light of a few torches guiding them into the city. The Khajiit was the last to make it to the large wooden doors but he stopped anyway to look at the sky. The wind had shifted as he'd been walking and he could feel his fur beginning to stand on end. The sky itself had turned pitch black but he could still make out a few giant clouds swirling together, forming a spinning spiral. And that's when the voice boomed, a chilling, ethereal voice speaking in a language he'd never heard before. "Dovahkiin" it sounded like. The air rumbled for a moment after until the wind carried it off and all was still once again. Even the clouds dispersed, leaving a starless, black sky.

"What... the hell" he whispered to himself. He lowered his gaze where his eyes met those of a guard who looked just as stunned as he did. At least that's what he thought as the guard was wearing a helmet so it was impossible to tell. Giving his head a little shake, the cat wandered into the city, dragging his feet. All of a sudden he'd felt exhausted. His body was finally coming down from the adrenaline rush it was in during the fight with the dragon and it was telling him that he needed rest. There was no time for that however as he first had to report back to the Jarl. _If Irileth doesn't kill me first for not keeping up. _The Khajiit made a growling noise in his throat. He didn't hate the woman exactly he just didn't prefer her.

Climbing the steps to Dragonsreach felt like even more of a chore than slaying, well, running from the dragon, and the Khajiit's muscles protested greatly as he lifted one leg then the other. He was huffing when he finally reached the great doors to the keep and for once he was glad he'd lagged behind as he would've hated Irileth seeing him struggling so much with something as mundane as climbing stairs. _Well if I'm lucky I'll die of exhaustion before the Jarl can lop my head off._ He stretched his arms and legs and yawned for good measure. Once he felt ready - which took a minute or two of deep breathing more - he placed his gloved paws on the iron door handles and pulled.

Inside it looked as if the ceiling was ablaze. There were more torches than were necessary, not to mention the large fire pit in the center of the grand room. The long tables, one on each side of the fire pit, were covered in plates stacked with delicious looking food. The Khajiit had to consciously keep himself from drooling as he neared the tables and made his way to the throne where Jarl Balgruuf sat talking patiently to Proventus. He avoided meeting Irileth's searing eyes as he stood waiting for the Jarl to finish speaking to his steward.

Just like the first time the Khajiit and Balgruuf met, the Jarl had lazily draped himself over the throne and spoke with one hand near his mouth while his other arm rested on the chair. Despite his relaxed pose however, one look at the Jarl and it was clear he was not one to be messed with. He was not a cruel man but neither would he spare a man grief if he deserved it. The Khajiit had already learned to respect him and so it terrified him even more now that Balgruuf had heard about his abysmal performance with the dragon.

"Well, well, looks like the hero has returned" the Jarl said lightly, glancing briefly at Irileth who stood stiffly next to him, arms crossed grudgingly. Balgruuf had asked her to keep her mouth shut until he'd heard the Khajiit's side of the story and she had agreed simply because he was her Jarl. That didn't stop her from glaring daggers at the poor cat though.

The Khajiit gulped as he found himself the center of attention for the second time that evening. If he wasn't covered in fur, the Jarl would've seen he was red as the droplets of blood falling from the gash in his ear left by Irileth's arrow. "Yeah... I mean no. I'm no hero," he dropped his ears before continuing "I shot two arrows at the thing... the dragon... but after that I ran. I hid. And then Irileth had to save me" he could see the look of contemplation in the Jarl's eyes as he took another gulp of air. "I was a coward. I'm sorry" He stopped there, giving the Jarl time to consider his punishment.

Everyone's attention was shifted to Balgruuf as he continued to stare silently at the Khajiit, sizing the boy up and down. Finally, the man grunted and said "Do not apologize to me for I am not the one you owe an apology to. You do yourself a great disservice for acting so incompetently" he paused to glare at Irileth who was smirking at the cat. She quickly composed herself though so the Jarl could keep going, "However I feel as if there is more to this story than either of you are telling me". At this the guards who were part of the dragon-slaying party looked up from the long table where they'd been feasting since their return. The Khajiit turned to them and saw that one of the guards was nodding slowly at him. It was probably the same one who'd spoken up but all the guards' uniforms were identical so he couldn't know for sure.

He nodded back anyway and spun to face the Jarl again. "Uh yes sir, something else did happen. When the dragon died..." the Khajiit hesitated as he thought of the best way to convey the next part without sounding crazy, "there was this... power that left it and went into me. It felt for a moment... like I found a piece of myself I didn't even know I'd lost" _Aaaaannnd I'm dead. That sounded completely –_

"Preposterous!" Avenicci exclaimed. The Khajiit and the guards were taken aback by the steward's sudden objection, the Jarl and Irileth however merely shared a knowing look.

"And why, Proventus, do you believe this story to be false?" Balgruuf sighed, settling more comfortably in his seat so he could face the balding man.

"Don't tell me you actually think this sneak-thief is the next Dragonborn! It's ridiculous. He couldn't even face the dragon, he ran away with his tail between his legs, he just said so himself!" It was obvious the idea of Skyrim's legendary hero having returned as a scrawny, naive Khajiit was more than the steward could bear and if the guards hadn't witnessed it themselves, they'd be laughing into their mead as well. Irileth didn't want to believe it either but she knew what she saw and there was no denying the possibility. The gods always had a way of throwing a fox in the chicken coop every so often. In this case, they'd thrown a cat into a dragon's nest.

It took a few minutes for the Jarl to consider his steward's angry words, a few minutes that lasted much too long for the Khajiit. He nervously darted his eyes around from the red-faced Proventus, to the frowning housecarl, to the thinking Balgruuf and back again in the same order, hoping to catch a glimpse of what his fate was to be.

There was a loud clearing of the throat as the Jarl was ready to speak again except this time all the seriousness had gone out of his eyes. "Proventus you are a great steward but you're always so quick to judge people" Balgruuf nodded his head at the Khajiit who looked ready to faint, "this boy was brave enough to join Irileth and the men in battle even after witnessing the destruction of Helgen. And before that, he brought news of the dragon to this hold when he owed us no such obligation. Without his warning, we would've been left with our pants down while a dragon stormed our great city" The steward huffed in resignation and bowed his head to the Jarl who grinned back, "So to you, boy, I extend my thanks. I also grant you the title of Thane and a weapon from my personal armory to serve as your badge of office" saying this, Balgruuf waved his hand at Irileth who drew an axe from the side of her belt and handed it, albeit with some disdain, to the Khajiit. The cat bowed his head to her then to the Jarl as he struggled to attach the axe to his own belt. It was a beautiful steel war axe, its handle wrapped in royal purple fabric hardened to a firm grip, its blades enchanted with a soul-stealing magic and carved into its head was a pattern of swirls bewitching to look at. "Also, I assign you Lydia to serve as your personal housecarl"

The Khajiit looked around to see who this housecarl was but apparently the Jarl hadn't finished speaking for the blond Nord cleared his throat and was again serious. "Now onto more pressing matters, you must go at once to speak to the Greybeards"

The cat reeled; _I'm being sent on another mission? So soon? _ He tilted his head slightly forward to hide his disappointment. He couldn't fool the Jarl however as Balgruuf sighed and offered, "Perhaps you would like to discuss this tomorrow? You must be quite overwhelmed... and I think those old men can stand to wait a little longer"

The change in the young hero was immediate as he nodded his head, relieved to finally have a break. At least now he could take some time to think on these new revelations and also to read up on what exactly a Dragonborn was. He bowed his head to the Jarl and gave Irileth a quick smile before practically dashing to the great doors. With one heave he had them open and closed again, padding onto the bridge as nonchalantly as possible to not disturb the guards posted outside. When he reached the top of the stairs, he at last allowed himself to hurry to the inn, narrowly missing someone as he darted down towards the Wind District. "Hey, watch it" he heard the person say but he didn't bother to look back.

Chapter End.

**It's probably clear but in case you were wondering, I am not following the game story exactly and definitely not in terms of the conversations. Also, I apologize if some of the characters seem different from what you were expecting, I do try to keep their personalities faithful to the game but a little artistic license felt necessary c:**


	2. Don't Rush In

**Chapter Two: Don't Rush In**

"_When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world  
When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped  
When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles  
When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls  
When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding  
The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn"_

_Prophecy of the Dragonborn_

It had been a pure stroke of luck when the Khajiit found a copy of "The Book of the Dragonborn" among the various other knick-knacks he'd managed to grab during the escape from Helgen. He'd read through the entire tome during the night, ignoring his aching muscles and tired eyes. "... Born with the blood and soul of a Dragon, but the body of a mortal..." he read aloud, scratching at the tear in his ear which was just beginning to heal. It was strange he didn't feel at all surprised with the new information. Actually, he was quite excited. _That guard mentioned something about a shout though. _He flipped through the book again but he couldn't find anything that resembled what the guard had said. _Maybe I'll ask the guard about it... or better yet that Quiet-Fire guy! Or maybe it was Subtle-Fire... _He shook his head in annoyance. His mind had been wandering all night, probably from the lack of sleep.

Deciding to take a break, the cat unfolded his legs from beneath him and hopped off the bed. He circled the small but cozy room picking up a bucket and a cloth as he went. Leaving the inn, the Khajiit could see that the sun had just barely peeked over the horizon, its position suggesting it was perhaps 3 or 4 in the morning. He made his way to the well with his items, hooking the bucket onto the end of the pulley and lowering it into the water. Once the container was full, he pulled it back up again. There was a faint stirring in the air by this time as birds began to flutter around and waken. He flicked his ears at them and made a faint hissing sound. The Khajiit fondly remembered the time he'd caught a bright red bird when he was young. His mother was so proud that she had it cooked up and served to him as a special breakfast, saving its feathers for decoration. _I really have to stop with the mind-wandering..._

He splashed his face absently with the cool water, cupping some in his paws to see his reflection. His midnight-blue fur still had a few singed pieces here and there and the three claw-marks on his nose were still as pink as ever but his face was pretty untouched otherwise. Then he turned his head to the left to get a better look at his torn ear. The wound had scarred over nicely but it would take a while to heal completely. _Better to lose an ear than a head I guess. _He considered thanking Irileth properly for saving his life but pushed the thought from his mind when he tried to imagine her reaction. _She'd probably shoot me full of holes to complement the one in my ear... _He brought his hand up to his left ear, the one with two gold hoops hanging from it. These piercings he'd gotten when his best childhood friend had dared him to. They'd both ended up with two piercings each and a scolding from their parents. _Wow I'm nostalgic when I'm sleep deprived._ As if his body was proving this point, he gave a loud yawn, stretching his lean frame to its maximum height of 5 foot 9 inches. For a Khajiit he was pretty average in size but coming to Skyrim and being around all the burly Nords had come as quite a shock. Even the women were tougher than he was and they were built like sabre cats. _Though to be fair I'm not exactly the finest Khajiit specimen._

Light was beginning to seep into the city then, casting a brilliant orange glow on the sides of the buildings. The Khajiit loved this time of day the most, it was quiet and the view was unbeatable. Flexing his toes, the cat dropped the bucket and briskly wiped his face with the cloth, letting the fabric hang around his neck as he made a great leap onto the rooftop of one of the market stalls. From there he could see down the path to the main gate where the sunlight made its appearance, glancing over the walls that surrounded the city. He took a deep breath of the morning air, remaining perched on the roof as he watched the early-risers of Whiterun begin their daily routines. Most shops didn't open until 8 so mainly it was the farm hands and the guards trading shifts who were out and about. One guard gave the cat a glance on his way to the entrance of the city but the Khajiit merely flashed him a smile. The guard noticeably did a double-take before quickening his pace to his shift. _That's what I get for being nice? Hmph, maybe it's a Nord thing._

He kept his position for another half-hour before hopping down and heading back to the Bannered Mare, grabbing the bucket as he went. The inn was bustling with activity as a few patrons could be heard demanding breakfast while inn staff scurried around straightening recently vacated rooms. The Khajiit kept to himself as he made his way to his room, dodging around people as he went. His room was just as he left it, the book lying face-down on the sheets and his leather armor draped over a chair. He put the bucket and cloth in a corner then changed from his regular clothes into his battle wear: leather armor, leather bracers, the axe strapped to his waist with the bow wrapped around his shoulder, quiver criss-crossing that and no shoes or helmet. He found headwear made his ears hurt and he had yet to find boots that fit his feline feet.

Feeling ready for anything, he packed up his bag, placing the book carefully inside along with a few apples the inn had provided free of charge. He then grabbed a quick breakfast of cheese and bread, washed down with milk. It was already past 8 a.m. when he left the inn and headed up towards the Cloud District and then Dragonsreach.

Climbing the steps still proved to be an uncomfortable experience as he hadn't rested and his stamina was taking longer to regenerate than usual. He made it to the top without a hitch though and was through the door in time to see Jarl Balgruuf taking a seat on his throne. Apparently the Jarl had awoken later than usual, _He probably couldn't sleep from all the excitement yesterday either._ The Khajiit spotted Irileth in her usual position beside the Jarl looking as fierce as ever, but he noticed that Proventus wasn't there. Not that it mattered.

Shrugging, he took his time walking towards the Jarl's seat but just as he was passing the right long table, he saw the court mage saunter up to speak with the Jarl first. The Khajiit didn't mind though, it wasn't like he was looking forward to being given a new mission especially not when it involved talking to some old guys. _Although they'd know more about the Dragonborn than anyone... right? _He stood a few steps away from Irileth, keeping his eyes fixed on the Jarl and Farengar so he could avoid accidentally making visual contact with the elf. He could hear the butt end of their conversation as well. It sounded like they were talking about a stone.

"He's here, Farengar, why don't you ask him yourself?" Balgruuf suggested, gesturing towards the Khajiit.

There was a moment of silence as Farengar Secret-Fire gave the Dragonborn a look-over. Appearing less than impressed with his inspection, the mage turned to the cat anyway and proceeded to explain the current situation. "...So you see there's a good chance this stone will have some pertinent information on the dragons however there's almost as good a chance that this stone does not exist at all" the mage finished. He searched the Khajiit's face for a reaction but all he saw was confusion and disbelief plastered on the cat's white-striped face. This only made Farengar grunt in exasperation.

The Jarl however was not one to let up so easily. "Dragonborn, I know Farengar is asking much but this stone could be the key to understanding the reason for the return of the dragons and perhaps even a way to stop them. I, myself am interested in knowing what is written on that stone and I will ask you again, will you retrieve the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow?" Balgruuf said it in the form of a challenge rather than a question and the Khajiit knew that this mission was to be a test to make up for his failure with the dragon. Although he told himself he couldn't care less what either Irileth or the Jarl thought of him, he knew it wasn't true and he wasn't about to pass up a chance to regain a bit of honor in their eyes.

Giving himself a shake to psyche himself out, the Khajiit nodded with as much confidence as he could muster. Clearly this was the right answer as Balgruuf's expression immediately lightened as did that of Farengar who was looking positively ecstatic. "Good, you should leave as soon as you're prepared. The Greybeards will have to hold their peace because this mission is much too important to leave for later" the wizard said, hurrying back to his room to prepare his study materials.

"Nice to see he's so concerned for my life" the Khajiit growled sarcastically, earning him a chuckle from Balgruuf and even a hint of a smile from Irileth.

"Do not worry my friend you will do fine so long as you have faith in yourself. Also, I've informed Lydia about the mission so she can accompany you while acting as my eyes and ears. Wouldn't want you fleeing without my knowing now would we?" the blond Nord teased, there was a glint in his eyes that the Khajiit had not seen before. _So he knew I was going to agree to this... fantastic. He was stringing me along from the start. _It wasn't like the cat could be too angry with the Jarl though, he really did want to complete this mission successfully, for his own sake as much as theirs.

He gave the Jarl a quick bow to signal his leave, tipping his head for Irileth as well for the heck of it, and then he set off towards the doors. As he approached the exit, he noticed a young woman was standing nearby, dressed in a set of steel armor, minus the helmet. She had a round shield strapped to her back and a steel sword sheathed at her side. She didn't seem to notice him until he walked right up to her, the tips of his ears making him roughly half-an-inch taller than the Nord, meaning she had to look slightly down to meet his eyes. "You must be Lydia" he started with a smile. He wanted to make a good first impression considering she was going to be evaluating him for the Jarl. _And I want her to like me if she's going to be watching my back. _He even tilted his ears a bit back, a Khajiit sign of submission and therefore respect, hoping she'd be able to read it.

Lydia scanned his face first just like every other person who laid eyes on him in Whiterun but unlike the other citizens she did not betray her impression of him. Instead she returned his courtesy by making a little bow, like the ones the Khajiit always gave the Jarl. "Yes my Thane" she said, "I've been assigned to be your housecarl and I'll be going with you to Bleak Falls Barrow" Although she tried her best to keep it hidden, the Dragonborn could detect a hint of excitement in her tone and her voice had an unexpected energy to it.

_Maybe this won't be so bad, I was afraid I'd end up with another Irileth. _The cat smiled broadly at his housecarl, showing his pointed teeth. "Alright, let's get going"

* * *

"I said _left, _skeever-brain!" Lydia cursed, banging the flat of her sword against her shield twice to catch the sabre cat's attention. The beast took the bait and bounded towards her, leaving the poor Khajiit cowering in the shallows of a lake he'd fallen into. As the sabre got close, the housecarl gave it a quick bash on the head disorienting it before jamming her sword into its left forepaw. It howled in pain and made a few swipes at the Nord with its remaining paw but it could not reach her. They were in a stalemate as Lydia had no weapon and the sabre could not free itself. "Get up! It's your turn" she shouted to her Thane, taking a few steps towards him in case he felt like running away.

It took a couple tries but the Khajiit managed to lift himself out of the water and onto dry land. He was huffing and he could feel a welt forming on his right thigh where he'd landed quite ungracefully. "Y-you said left ...I ran left" he gasped, doubling over as he swallowed as much air as possible.

The housecarl took a deep breath to calm herself down as she responded, "I meant _your_ left" She thought she was going to burst from the effort it took to restrain herself from yelling profanities at her young Thane. The Khajiit didn't acknowledge her anger however, he was too busy panting and chugging a stamina potion to even notice that the sabre cat had disappeared. Lydia wasn't paying attention either as she crossed her arms impatiently, waiting for the Dragonborn to finish his drink. Ever since they'd left the vicinity of Whiterun, they had been attacked by wolves, mudcrabs and the sabre cat all in the span of a few hours. Not to mention the yellow-bellied tactics of the Khajiit had greatly slowed their progress.

If the excitement of being out of the city hadn't left them by now, it was about to be knocked right out of Lydia as the sabre cat pounced silently from behind her, only letting out a roar when its claws made contact with the housecarl's armor. She soon found herself being unwittingly pulled along with the sabre cat into a frenzied roll down the slight slope. There was a lot of clawing and kicking but there was no way to tell who was winning and the Khajiit could only watch helplessly as they continued to toss and bat each other.

Finally the woman and the big cat came to a stop, the sabre having landed on top was snarling in rage as the housecarl was just barely able to keep its jaws from crushing her skull by crossing her arms above her head. With only one forepaw remaining the sabre was not able to attack with its claws, leaving its formidable fangs as its only weapon. Still, the sabre was better off than Lydia who had no sword and who had lost her shield during their messy descent. The beast was gnawing on her steel gauntlets now, shaking its head frantically from side to side in an attempt to tear the armor away. There was a moment when she thought her arm was going to snap from the constant twisting but she needn't have worried because the blade of an axe was driven into the sabre's head about as soon as she felt the skin of the feline's teeth against her own. The beast's cranium was split nearly in two by the force, killing it instantly at the same time splattering Lydia and the grass around her with blood and chunks of brain.

There was a sick moment of silence that followed the sabre's death, like Skyrim herself was holding her breath. Standing above the housecarl with his hands locked firmly on the axe's grip, the Dragonborn huffed, sweat coating his dark fur. With a loud grunt he dislodged the blade from the mass of gore that was once an animal not so different from himself, a fact he had no interest in exploring. His huffing continued as he dropped the axe at his feet, his eyes staring blankly ahead then turning to look at Lydia before the Khajiit finally collapsed in an unconscious heap on the grass.

The spell was broken by the call of an eagle circling high above the hillside. And as if in answer, a strong wind began to blow, carrying the scent of blood and sweat away as it passed through Skyrim, rustling the housecarl's hair and skimming past the Dragonborn's fur. Returning to a state of level calm, Lydia pushed the corpse of the sabre cat off her arm, inspecting her limb for any damage. Its fangs had not managed to tear the skin though she would need a new gauntlet. She threw the shredded arm-piece away and jogged to retrieve her shield and sword, shaking the sabre paw off the blade as she returned to where the Khajiit had passed out.

"Not bad my Thane, there may be hope for you yet" she admitted, not expecting him to hear.

* * *

_The Breton boy sighed openly, sitting back on his haunches to be level with the young Khajiit sniveling on the ground. "Aw Darko you're such a cry-baby" he said it as an observation rather than an insult. The cat only cried louder. There was a bruise forming on his knee and it was beginning to bleed, soaking into his smoky-blue fur. Unfortunately, the Breton had not yet learned to cast a healing spell so he had to rip off his sleeve and patch it up the old-fashioned way. "There we go" he chirped, "you'll be fine now" He stood back to admire his handiwork. _

_The Khajiit hiccupped, taking a look at the crude bandage. He was fine for a few seconds until a couple blood spots appeared on the beige fabric, sending the cat into another crying fit. "I-i-it still h-h-u-urts, Jyric!" he stammered between wails. _

_Jyric bent down to meet his friend's eyes. Getting into a more comfortable position, the Breton raised his left hand, palm up where the cat had a clear view. There was a small pause before a flame flickered to life in the center of Jyric's hand. It grew to the size of a large apple, the fire dancing hypnotically in the Elsweyr breeze. Darko's sobbing ceased almost immediately as he watched the magic fire. They stayed that way for a minute or two, the Khajiit gazing at the flame while Jyric creased his eyebrows in concentration. When his magic ran out, the Breton stood up first, sweeping the sand off his tan pants. "Let's get going before our mums give us a smacking" he said, happy his friend had stopped sobbing entirely. With a smile on his small face, Jyric held out his hand for Darko to take._

It took a swift kick in the stomach for the Khajiit to wake up, spluttering and waving his arms fiercely in an attempt to ward off his attacker. "Calm down, it's me" Lydia said, having moved away in expectation of the desperate flailing. She watched as her Thane slowly swept his head from the right to the left, taking in his surroundings. The grass had disappeared, giving way to snow and sheer cliffs. The sky was dark but they were high enough that the stars appeared in great numbers, brightening the night. There was a chilly wind brushing over the cliffs as well but they were shielded by a large stone archway. There were more of these great arches and they formed a path, leading to a temple that appeared to be built right into the landscape. "This place certainly lives up to its name, doesn't it?" he heard his housecarl say, his eyebrows rising in shock as he realized where they were.

"Bleak Falls Barrow? How did we get here?" the Khajiit cried while hugging his knees tightly. He didn't remember being this far up when he'd lost consciousness. He turned his head to look up at Lydia, waiting for his answer.

She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the temple as she replied, "I took care of the guards and carried you up" The way she sounded made it seem like no big deal but the Khajiit had trouble believing it. Most people, especially in such a harsh place as Skyrim, only did others a favor if they were receiving something in return. So it did not add up that this woman would go through all this trouble to make sure he completed his mission, even if she was his housecarl, they were practically strangers. "Don't expect me to carry you again. Once we enter that tomb, you're fighting your own battles" she declared. Lydia brushed off the look of suspicion her Thane was giving her and stepped towards the stone doors of Bleak Falls Barrow, motioning for him to lead.

The cat decided to drop his apprehension for now and pattered after her, entering the tomb first.

Inside, the temple was in disarray with chunks of debris blocking some of the way while skeevers crawled through the cracks. Two made their way to the Khajiit as soon as he set foot in the place but they were dispatched quickly by a few swift slashes. Lydia followed after, keeping a few paces back to give the cat room in case they needed to fight. Like this, they traversed further into the tomb, cutting down more skeevers, a few stray bandits and even some Frostbite spiders along the way.

They were in good spirits an hour into the tombs. The Khajiit was beginning to think there was hope for his evaluation after all. Ever since he'd killed the sabre, he was no longer afraid of seeing blood. Although there had been a few gruesome kills that had sent waves of panic and nausea through his body, he was able to keep them at bay. Lydia had also noticed this change in her Thane and a part of her was glad while the other was worried his new-found courage would go straight to his fuzzy head. _At least we've got a chance of surviving this mission now_, she thought warily.

The deeper they headed into the tomb, the colder it got. It reached a point where they could see their breath on the air and the Khajiit was starting to shiver in his leather armor. Keeping his arms wrapped around himself, they entered a stone passage covered in cobwebs which Lydia swiped away with disgust.

That's when they heard a piercing shriek, further down the way they were going. Without a second's hesitation and completely forgetting about the cold, the cat bounded towards the sound, his housecarl following cautiously behind. "Wait! Don't just..." but there was no point, her Thane had already disappeared around a bend and she could hear the echoes of his feet pounding the earth as he surged forth without her. Going against her instincts, Lydia shot after him though not quite meeting his speed as her heavy armor prevented it. _I have a bad feeling about this._

* * *

Unlike the previous sections of the tomb which mainly consisted of narrow hallways and tunnels, the Khajiit had come upon a room where the ceiling stretched far above him, disappearing into a thick cloud of webs. The density of the cobwebs had increased gradually on the way to this area where it seemed to have peaked. All the walls were covered in the sticky stuff and at the far end of the room the Khajiit spotted a man trapped like, well, a fly. It was clear he was the one who'd been screaming as he was yelling for the cat to free him presently. The Khajiit would have complied right away had he not spotted a small movement on the ceiling. His ears twitched towards where he'd seen the web vibrate, there was something making a scratchy sound up there and it was on the move.

Suddenly, a giant spider dropped from its dark hiding place and landed not three feet away from the Dragonborn who had stumbled at the force of the impact. The trapped man shut up as soon as he saw the eight-legged freak and closed his eyes, preparing to be devoured. However, the spider was not interested in him. Instead it went after the Khajiit hoping to make him into an appetizer.

Seeing the hulking spider skitter towards him on those towering legs, the cat leaped back and took out his axe, dropping into a semi-crouch as he kept his icy eyes on the arachnid. Not wanting to chase its prey around, the spider spat a wad of venom at the cat. It hit the Khajiit dead on as he was not prepared for a long-range attack. He yowled as the poison coursed through his system and burned his eyes. His vision began to blur instantly and he had dropped his axe to paw at his face. The spider had wasted no time; it was already thundering closer and closer, lashing out with its mandibles when it was within range. The Khajiit managed with some luck to dodge out of the way of the spider's first swipe but was floored by its second jab, sending a shock of pain through his shoulder where the attack landed.

Without any idea of where he was going, the Khajiit tried to crawl away and find his axe, receiving a blow to his back for his efforts. He was sent flying into the webbing along the wall. The cobwebs weren't concentrated enough to trap him there but it did take him a few precious seconds to pry himself off, seconds which the creature took to launch another volley of venom. Right on time, the venom was intercepted by a round shield, splashing against the steel harmlessly. "Took you long enough" the cat grunted, his sight was returning steadily and he could just make out the outline of his housecarl crouching in front of him, "I thought you said to fight my own battles"

Lydia flashed him a look that he couldn't read. "Well despite how magnificent your fight was going-" she rolled to the right as a fang nearly took a wedge out of her throat. The spider was targeting her now as the new threat and it wasn't going easy anymore. "- I don't think the Jarl would appreciate me bringing a bloody pulp of a Dragonborn back to the hold" she said through her teeth as she countered another stab with her own. _So that's why she's helping me. She doesn't want to get in trouble with the Jarl. Figures. _The steel blade struck true as it was buried into the spider's face, blood spraying out from the wound in short bursts. The arachnid screeched and fell back, its forelegs stomping randomly in an attempt to squish the housecarl while its mandibles worked at removing the sword.

For the second time that day, Lydia found herself without a weapon and she grumbled inwardly with the realization. Then she spotted it, the Axe of Whiterun was glowing faintly a fair distance away. Taking a leap of faith, the housecarl made a dive for the enchanted war axe. She grabbed it in mid-roll and landed with two feet and one hand planted on the ground, the axe raised slightly above her shoulder level. Outraged, the spider charged her but it was too slow as she pushed off to its side and severed two of its mighty limbs. They fell with a snap and a cry from the spider. Its dexterity was now greatly reduced and it would no longer be able to charge.

However, the creature was given an opening when Lydia was forced to spin around to face the spider again. In that time, the arachnid shot a string of venom straight at her face where it would do the most damage. The poison veered off though, hitting her in the neck and jaw area instead but it still burned like nothing she'd ever experienced. The housecarl bit back the pain for long enough to hack at the spider more, injuring it heavily. She kept on the offensive, carving and slashing, dodging clumsily when the thing struck back and using her shield to bash it occasionally.

Her body had started shaking by then but only faltered once she'd landed the killing blow on the creature, blood gushing from its collapsed abdomen and a pathetic trill escaping its maw as it died. She dropped to the floor soon after the spider ceased to move and there she stayed for a time, clutching her throat and waiting out the temporary blindness. There was blood dripping from a few wounds she'd sustained during her reckless assault but the venom had the effect of numbing her whole body. She was also very cold.

"Uh... Can one of you let me down now? Please?"

Chapter End.

**AN: Hmmm, it seems like all they've been doing is getting into fights and being beaten up. The next chapter should be a little lighter. **

**Also, I don't have a schedule for updating this story but I'm trying to churn out chapters as quickly as possible because I tend to lose interest in things after a time. I'm quite set on finishing what I've started here though. And thanks for reading/reviewing!**

**Arvel the Swift has absolutely no tact. **


	3. The Swift and the Claw

**Chapter Three: The Swift and the Claw**

_It was an unusually crisp morning in the desert, the clear blue sky signalling a morning free of sandstorms. This was all for the better as Jyric and Darko had wanted to play outside for once without worrying about taking shelter. They had been kicking a ball around since sunrise after having finished their morning chores. Darko, being the more agile of the two, was having the game of his life. "You ready for this Jyric? It's time for my Werelion Roar!" and with that, the Khajiit made a spinning kick at the ball, hitting it with as much force as he possibly could while attempting his best impression of a werelion howl. _

_His kick sent the ball catapulting towards the badlands with the Breton boy chasing it as it flew in the hopes of catching it before it got too far. He wasn't about to let his friend have another easy goal, Jyric needed to steal his thunder somehow. Then an idea popped into his head and Jyric slowed his pace in preparation for a spell. "You're never gonna catch it like that!" Darko yelled from a fair distance away, the desert was flat so close to the town so the Khajiit could see his friend and the ball even from where he was standing. The Breton ignored his friend's taunting and pushed his hands, palms facing upwards, towards the air-borne ball. From his palms a chain of lightning erupted, passing through the air and zapping the ball mid-flight. The energy was instantly pulled out of the toy and it dropped with a thump right into Jyric's arms; he was huffing slightly from the dash he'd had to make in order to catch it on time but the look on his face was one of triumph. _

_Darko was completely stunned by his friend's trick and he was a little annoyed yet without realizing it his eyes slowly wandered to a small figure lying in the sand meters from where Jyric was currently standing. The Khajiit threw a worried glance at Jyric, nodding his head to the left, in the direction the thing was laying. Dropping the ball in an instant, the Breton made his way over, Darko sprinting to his side in moments. _

_There on the crimson-dyed sand lay a small fox. Its eyes had rolled back into its head and there was blood coming out of its mouth. The poor creature's heart beat was slowing and it was gasping for every breath. It didn't take someone as smart as Jyric to know that his chain lightning spell had accidentally struck the animal but Darko didn't know how to bring it up. _

_A solemn look passed onto Jyric's face, his hand running through his short, ebony hair as he tried to think of what to do. "You have to save it! Use your healing spell; you know it now don't you?" Darko pleaded, his blue eyes shining with tears. He'd only ever seen chickens and rats killed by his mother but those animals were so dumb and ugly, nothing like the beautifully tragic creature in front of him. And it wasn't even hurt on purpose. The cat grabbed at his friend's arm, shaking him a little to snap him out of his thoughts. _

_Jyric sighed, gently brushing his friend away. Rubbing both his hands together and uttering a small prayer, the Breton placed his palms on the fox's scrawny body. There was a pulse of energy as bright yellow rings of light began to wrap around the animal, knitting the wounds together and healing any internal injuries as they went. Gradually, the fox's breathing grew steady and its heart beat grew strong, it was as if nothing had happened, like it was just taking a nap. Darko gave a cry of delight and hugged his friend who was dizzy from the effort. "That was fantastic! You're amazing Jyric!" the Khajiit purred, he released his friend when he noticed how pale the Breton looked but he couldn't help himself from leaping in excitement. _

"_Hey, no problem... I'm here all week" Jyric said weakly, his body felt like lead and he had a slight headache but on the whole he was pleased. The fox, being awakened by the cat's joyous rumpus, yawned and brushed its orange body against the Breton's calves in affection. It even began to follow him when the two friends decided it was time to head home for lunch, Jyric leaning against the Khajiit for support as they walked. "I think I'll call him Tynan" _

_Darko nodded at the name, it felt appropriate. The fox just loped along though, not understanding what they were saying. "You're so shelfless... errr... selfless, Jyric. Like a hero or something" the Khajiit praised. He checked to see if his friend was still conscious and was glad to see the Breton's color returning. _

_Jyric however was more contemplative than thankful, "Darko, you know there's no such thing as true selflessness. And heroes... well... they're just myths aren't they?"_

* * *

The webbing was thick and a lot tougher than it appeared, not to mention, the Khajiit had no desire to harm the Dunmer as he tried to get him out. Going with the safest approach, the cat removed his gloves and got to work cutting through the silk with his claws. Lydia still tired and a little sore even after chugging down a potion, was resting in the corner of the room with the least amount of cobwebs. She was eying the trapped man and had her hand always on her sword in case he tried anything. "So who are you anyway, and what are you doing down here?" the Khajiit asked, making conversation as he worked.

The elf wasn't in the mood for talking but if he was going to be freed without being killed by the Nord, he had to be nice at least for the time being. "They call me Arvel the Swift. I'm an... acquirer of valuables" he said smoothly, turning his head as much as he could to face his rescuer. The cat looked gullible enough; it was the woman who was going to be trouble. _It's a good thing she's injured or else I might not be able to escape. _"I heard there was treasure down here so I came to investigate. Until that freak of nature dropped out of the sky that is. Now I just want to get out of here as soon as possible"

Lydia scoffed but her Thane remained as oblivious as ever, "Treasure huh? Well we're here to find a special stone. Do you know anything about it?" There was a tearing noise as the Khajiit managed to pull a particularly stubborn wad of webs from around Arvel's torso area, freeing the Dunmer up enough so he could wiggle and stretch his aching spine. "There's supposed to be something about dragons on it and the Jarl is desperate to –"

From seemingly out of nowhere, a human jawbone hit the cat in the back of the head, causing him to meow in pain and surprise. "My Thane I strongly advise you to keep your big mouth shut about our mission" Lydia hissed, she dropped the jawless skull back onto the cold stone floor and sat down, resting her head against the wall as the room began to swim again. The Dragonborn made a move to throw something at his housecarl but he stopped with a pout and went back to clearing the web. _What a mismatched pair of idiots they are. Still, they did just give me valuable information. That rock must be worth a fortune. _

The Khajiit didn't notice the devious grin play across the Swift's dark face as he started working on freeing the elf's limbs. It took another solid half-hour to remove all the remaining webs holding Arvel in place but the cat managed it and the Dunmer soon found himself safely back on solid ground. "Thank you, my friend. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along and that goes for you too woman" the Swift said, giving a slight bow to top off his charade.

"To be fair you were kind of blocking the way we're supposed to be heading so it wasn't entirely out of the kindness of my heart but you're welcome anyway" the Dragonborn replied with more of an explanation than he had wanted to give.

Arvel's slit-like eyes glinted even more upon hearing this news, asking with extra sugar in his voice, "Oh? So you're still going on with your little quest?" _Fool._

The Khajiit nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely. Like I said there's – " he trailed off, darting his gaze quickly to Lydia who was subtly shaking her head at him, "- uh some business we need to take care of" he finished, hoping the elf hadn't taken the pause too seriously. He was reassured when he saw a look of delight appear on Arvel's face. "Yeah, so if there's nothing else you need, we'll be on our way" Lydia took this as a signal to go so she stood up, knees buckling a touch but steadying out as she slipped through the doorway the spider had been using as a trap, turning her back on the Dunmer and glad to be rid of him. No such luck.

"Actually there is something. I would like to come with you, just until I find my treasure. You see it's really important and I thought I could leave without it but I can't. It must be the adventurer in me" Arvel sang, his words were so coated in syrup Lydia wouldn't be surprised if his spit was made of the stuff. She was sure her Thane was at least smart enough to see through this act.

"Sure why not? It's always nice to travel with friends and I'm sure my housecarl wouldn't mind" the Khajiit replied. Lydia smacked her palm to her face so hard she almost gave herself a nosebleed.

"Then it's decided! Lead the way, my feline friend" _Hah. Like flies in a web. _Arvel thought.

* * *

The going was slow with the Nord having to lean against walls to keep herself balanced and the Khajiit constantly leading them into dead ends and veering off the path to go searching for treasure chests. He usually came back with a potion, a few gold coins and if he was lucky a lock-pick or two that didn't even make up for the ten he wasted picking the expert-made lock to get to them. Then there were the Draugrs. They were noisy and smelled awful but they were tougher than bandits and some took more than a simple decapitation to defeat. As if that wasn't enough, Arvel refused to fight, claiming he had a weak heart for such things. _Because bandits never kill people in their line of work, _Lydia thought bitterly, slicing a Draugr in half as she went. That was the last enemy in the room so they moved on.

The torch-lit passage seemed to widen in the next area and at the very opposite end, there was a giant stone wall. As they walked closer, the Khajiit being distracted by the pictures along the walls and Lydia trailing behind, Arvel couldn't help the excitement bubbling inside him for this was the place he had been searching for. Skipping ahead, he stopped right in front of the blockade and ran his slender hands over the symbols engraved on its surface. Below them, was a circle with three holes bored in. "Any ideas on how to get past this?" the Khajiit asked the elf, having looked at all the walls but not having learned anything.

Arvel smiled, "Actually it's quite simple" he took a golden object out of the pack he carried across his shoulders. It appeared to be a rough replica of a dragon's claw. "This is the key. You see the symbols on the wall? The animals I mean"

The Khajiit and even Lydia whose interest was piqued, took a good look at the wall. There were indeed animals carved onto three rings. At the moment, there was a bear, another bear beneath that and the last appeared to be a moth. They both turned back to Arvel, the cat was still stumped but he nodded anyway, hoping to hide his confusion. He couldn't fool his housecarl though; she rolled her eyes in annoyance, explaining, "They're dials. We just need to find the right combination –"

"And then use this key to open the way, precisely" the elf finished for her. A flood of understanding washed over the Dragonborn and finally they were all on the same page.

It didn't last however, as the Khajiit realized, "But we don't know the combination and it would take days to try out every possible answer" his ears drooped helplessly. This remark didn't diminish the elf's mood in the slightest as he'd already known the answer since he'd stolen the claw from those bickering shopkeepers.

"Ah but we do know the combination. The Nords were either clever or stupid enough to carve the answer right into the key" Arvel said, trying his best not to falter under Lydia's death-glare. Then he held the claw out in front of his two companions so that they could inspect it for themselves. On the palm of the dragon's claw were three animal etchings, a bear, a moth, and an owl. "Now all we have to do is rotate those rings until they match the pattern seen here" and the elf did just that, placing the talons of the claw into the three holes when he'd completed the combination, and turning it. With what the Khajiit assumed could only be magic, the dials began spinning and the doorway rumbled open, sinking into the floor as Arvel removed the claw and placed it back into his pack. "After you" the Swift bowed low, flinging his arms towards the newly revealed path. Playing along, the Khajiit bowed back and sauntered through, his housecarl reluctantly following behind with Arvel bringing up the rear.

* * *

They were met with a welcoming sight; the temple had given way to an enormous cathedral, sunlight filtering in through the roof and a natural waterfall having formed inside the structure over many years of neglect, could be heard, giving a peaceful soundtrack to the place. At the center of the room was another stone wall on a raised platform with strange writing running along its surface. This was what drew the Dragonborn's attention as he could hear voices emanating from the words, pulling him in. Interested only in his own goals, Arvel slipped away to find his treasure and the stone along with it. Lydia couldn't find anything better to do so she meandered after her Thane who was drawing ever closer to the word wall, taking a seat on the giant coffin at the center of the room so she had a good view of everything.

"HET NOK FaaL VahLOK  
DeiNMaaR DO DOVahGOLZ  
ahRK aaN FUS DO UNSLaaD  
RahGOL ahRK VULOM"

The chanting repeated over and over, getting louder as the Khajiit made his way in a trance towards the one glowing word on the entire wall. "Fus, fus, force, force" the word called, as its knowledge rushed into the Khajiit much like the dragon soul had. _What's happening?_

A crack of thunder sounded abruptly, catching the housecarl off-guard and causing the bandit to toss his loot in shock, as the Dragonborn was released from the wall's hold, leaving him to blink away his surprise as the voices faded. An eerie silence fell over the companions, the only noise being that of the rushing water below them.

"I don't mean to pry but... is this sort of thing normal for you two?" Arvel asked, finally, gathering his valuables together while never taking his eyes off the Khajiit. Both the cat and the Nord shook their heads. "Thought so. Well if you don't mind, I think I'll be on my way. I've got what I need so I wish you luck on finding your little rock" he said it quickly, pulling his now full pack over his shoulders and giving a small farewell bow. Then he turned and scampered out of sight, hiding behind a fallen chunk of the ceiling as he watched on from there, waiting for his chance to strike.

Still standing with a dumb expression on his face, the Khajiit just managed a wave to Arvel before the Dunmer had gone, wanting to utter a proper goodbye but not being able to find the words. It was as if his vocabulary had been reduced to that one word. "Fus" he whispered to himself, saying it again under his breath, tasting it. Lydia, having snapped out of her own daze, was throwing her Thane a concerned look which she tried to cover with a frown. She leaned forward with the intent of making her way over to the Khajiit's side. Unfortunately, this miniscule movement was enough to startle the cat into shouting out a panicked, "FUS!"

The effect was immediate; a visible force escaped the cat's throat in a blue burst of wind, blowing back anything in its path. It would have been awe-inspiring as well had the force not struck Lydia square in the chest, pushing her and the lid of the coffin into the shallow river. There was a splash and a sickening snap then a clattering of pebbles as the cat ran to the edge of the dais on all fours, scanning the water frantically for his housecarl.

Arvel, who had seen the whole thing, took this chance to run to another hiding spot, ducking just underneath the ramp that lead up to the wall effectively putting him closer to the action. From his new vantage point, the Dunmer could see the entrance to the cathedral, the waterfall brushing past the rocks on his right and a glint of light bouncing off something in the open coffin. _Well now what is that? _He moved to stand for a better look but hesitated when he saw the Khajiit was pacing around the area in front of the coffin, too busy searching to have noticed anything else.

"Lydia! Oh gods..." the cat cried, his voice cracking before he could call out again. His entire body was shaking and all his fur bristling at the thought that he'd somehow killed his housecarl. Never in his life had the Khajiit experienced the death of someone he knew except for his father but he was so young then it scarcely registered and that wasn't even his fault. _But this... _He could feel a lump forming in his throat, whether it was a side-effect of the shout or if it was from a sob wanting to escape he couldn't say. He simply felt terrible.

"Ugh... Didn't anyone teach you to cover your mouth when you sneeze" The Dragonborn practically jumped out of his skin, he was so happy to hear that voice. Tracing the sound, he eventually found Lydia sitting at the edge of the water near where the falls tumbled into the make-shift pond. She was clutching her left knee where blood was flowing from a gaping wound. There was a pained look in her eyes though she tried hard to hide it and she was paler than usual and shivering.

Despite her condition however, the Khajiit could not help feeling relieved, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry my bad manners almost killed you" he choked back tears and hiccupped, praying that Lydia hadn't seen him brush his arm over his eyes in an attempt to keep the waterworks at bay. If she did notice, she didn't say anything. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the cat took out a roll of linen from his bag along with the last bottle of healing potion he'd found. Dipping the cloth in the red liquid, he applied the bandage to Lydia's wound, looking apologetic when she winced. He repeated this process until the Nord's leg was wrapped tight and the bleeding had mostly stopped. "Alright, you wait here while I go find the Dragonst-" he was interrupted by a familiar yell.

Whipping his head around to face the source, the Khajiit was dumbfounded by the sight of Arvel standing over the coffin, hugging a flat, stone tablet in his arms while a Draugr Overlord had him by the throat. "No, please! I'll give it back" the bandit was squealing between breaths, dropping the Dragonstone in his frenzy to free himself from the dead man's grip. There was a loud thud as the stone landed on the ground at his feet but the Draugr didn't seem interested in it. Keeping one hand firmly around the Swift's neck, the Overlord raised its other hand, clamping it shut on the top of the bandit's head.

The crunch of splitting bones and tearing flesh rang throughout the chamber accompanied by a terrible screaming and the echo of blood spurting on stone.

Chapter End.

**AN: I might have killed the light-heartedness of this chapter by the end. **

**Next chapter it's back to Dragonsreach, then Jorrvaskr. **


	4. Little Talks

**Chapter Four: Little Talks**

The new area we entered was like nothing I'd ever seen. There was an indoor waterfall, the sky was finally visible again after hours down in the damp crypts, and at the center of it all, there was a great wall raised on its own little island. There were coffins scattered around the room as well and one large one on the island but I didn't think much of them until later. We split up, Arvel the Swift heading off to find his treasure, the Dragonborn wandering over to the wall and me; I decided to take a seat on the coffin to keep an eye on the area. It was peaceful for a minute or two but then thunder sounded and things fell apart from there.

Something was different about the Khajiit, he had this lost look about him and I think Arvel saw it too because he fled as soon as he could after that. I wanted to help so I stood up but I think I startled him and he shouted. I don't remember the word exactly, I just remember being pushed by this incredible force and before I knew it I was in the water.

**Lydia stopped when she saw the distress creeping onto Jarl Balgruuf's rough features. "He... shouted? At you?" the man grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose between his strong fingers. **

"**It was an accident. I should have been more careful" the housecarl reasoned, keeping her voice level. **

"**Yes well the next time he shouts, let's hope he accidentally hits the enemy, hmm?" it was clear from his tone that the Jarl was not willing to forgive the Dragonborn just yet for his error so Lydia decided to continue her account instead of wasting both their time arguing. **

I managed to get back to shore where the Dragonborn found me. I had broken a leg but was otherwise in good health. He tended my wound and told me to wait as he went off to find the Dragonstone but he didn't get far. It seemed Arvel had been spying on us the entire time and he'd managed to find the stone before us. I guess the Swift really lived up to his name although no amount of speed could've saved him from the Draugr. It...

**She coughed, choosing to skip the gory details of Arvel's death, it wasn't necessary for the Jarl to hear such things so early in the morning and frankly she didn't want to describe it. **

Once the Draugr was done with the elf, he turned to us. I couldn't stand at this point without assistance so the Dragonborn had to deal with the problem on his own. He took his axe and my sword to dual-wield, I assume to end the fight sooner. It would have been heroic had his fur not been standing on end like it was. They fought for a time, the Draugr was clearly winning but if there's one thing my Thane has going for him it's his perseverance. I didn't see how but he managed to disarm the Draugr. Unfortunately, the Khajiit also dropped his axe in the process. Their battle went on and it really seemed like we had a chance until the dead thing did something unexpected, it shouted as well.

**Balgruuf's brows raised in surprise, he'd heard of men other than the Dragonborn being able to shout, Ulfric being a prime example, but he never thought they could take that power to the grave and beyond. **

The Draugr's shout was different from the Dragonborn's, the force seemed like it was meant to disarm opponents, not to merely blow them away. So now they were both weaponless unless you count the cat's claws but those would do hardly any damage to a walking corpse, which goes for his bow and arrows as well. They circled each other once and that's when the Khajiit spotted the Dragonstone near his paws.

**There was an interruption when the steward came in with a breakfast of fruit, bread, meat stew and mead fit for two. Proventus bowed when he'd set the platter on the oak table between them and left without saying a word. Balgruuf took a sip of mead and ate a few grapes before turning back to Lydia. Taking a deep gulp of the mead herself, the housecarl kept going. **

So they were both without a weapon and the Draugr was so close to defeat, it sent the Dragonborn into a desperate rush to finish the fight for good. He dodged a punch and then another and then he ducked to pick up the Dragonstone. I thought he wanted to keep it safe in case the Draugr was after it. I was wrong.

**She took another long drink of mead, tilting the goblet high in front of her face so she didn't have to see the Jarl's hazel eyes boring into her green ones. **

He, the Dragonborn, raised the Dragonstone above his head. It was so heavy and he was so scrawny that he was shaking from the effort. The Draugr thought what any other warrior would, that this was the perfect time to strike, so it did. It charged at the Khajiit and it would have toppled both of them over the edge. But just in time, he brought the Dragonstone down on the Draugr's head right as the corpse made to leap. It killed the thing in an instant. The Dragonborn was so relieved; he was about ready to faint. He made his way back to me and we left that place in one piece.

**Lydia tossed back the last of the mead, slamming the goblet down heartily when she'd finished. The Jarl was gazing at her expectantly, causing her to flush though perhaps it was the alcohol. "And what of the stone? Did you bring it back to Whiterun?" he asked, sitting forward in his seat. **

**The housecarl tried to keep her expression neutral as she answered, "Yes, the mission was a success. We were able to bring most of the Dragonstone back as you ordered" She pushed her chair back and stood, leaning slightly on the table while bowing to the Jarl as if to thank him for giving her the mission, "Now if you'll excuse me, my Jarl, I need to get this leg looked after" Lydia made a move to leave the upper floor of Dragonsreach.**

**She hadn't made it three hobbled steps when Balgruuf drawled, "Lydiaaa. Where is the Dragonstone now?"**

* * *

The Dragonborn paced around the throne room, both hands clutching his leather bag, his brows furrowed in worry. The Jarl and the Nord housecarl had only been gone for ten minutes and he was already beginning to lose his cool. "Lydia said she'd take care of everything. All I have to do is wait and not look suspicious. Or guilty" he mumbled to himself, not realizing his ears and whiskers were twitching quite oddly.

Irileth, in a foul mood as usual and dizzy from watching the cat walk in circles, shot the Khajiit a cold sneer, freezing him in place. "Be still cat. I'm sure Lydia will have nothing but nice things to say about your little mission" she said it with venom but her statement was an honest one. Though she knew Lydia was nothing less than a skilled warrior and a loyal subject of Jarl Balgruuf, it was obvious the younger woman had a soft spot for the helpless and needy, a weakness that would prove troublesome considering her current Thane was both those things and more.

They waited in silence for the next while, the fire crackling in the center of the room barely breaking the awkward air. The Khajiit scratched his scarred ear once, the sound seeming so loud he quickly pulled his hand away, keeping his arms stuck to his sides, his bag left lying at his feet. Even Irileth was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the atmosphere in the room though she remained as stock-still as ever.

Another twenty minutes passed before they were released from the quiet by the entrance of Proventus. He had finished preparing the early morning meal and was passing through the throne room to reach the stairs leading up to the Jarl's quarters. He gave a quick nod to Irileth and raised a thin eyebrow at the Khajiit before disappearing behind the balusters with the tray of food balanced on one arm. _Good morning to you too, _the Dragonborn huffed, unconsciously crossing his arms in irritation.

Noticing the cat's apparent lack of patience, the dark elf taunted, "Now, now. The steward is a busy man. No point getting your tail in a knot over his lack of courtesy". The Khajiit stuck his tongue out at her in response. "Hmph. Milk-drinker" Irileth muttered, turning away from the cat in contempt.

There wasn't time to be angry however, as Balgruuf and Lydia finally emerged from the upper floor. There was a stern frown plastered on the Jarl's face. That and the fact that Lydia was walking slower on purpose, even for someone with a broken leg, was reason enough for the Khajiit to be anxious. With the Jarl standing a full head taller than the cat, it was a rather ridiculous sight when he closed the distance to halt a breath away from the Khajiit but no one dared laugh. Even Irileth did not chance a quip at the cat's expense.

"Dragonborn, I will give you one chance to answer honestly. Where is the Dragonstone?" There was no need to ask what would happen if he didn't comply, if the dangerous undertone in Balgruuf's voice was any indication, it wasn't going to be pretty. The Khajiit pointed to the leather bag, picking it up for the Jarl when the Nord made no move to retrieve it. "Well? Let's take a look" Balgruuf demanded, watching the cat in anticipation, like a lion stalking its prey.

Swallowing audibly, the Dragonborn flashed a look at Lydia who nodded, trying to tell him it was going to be alright. With a guilty grin, the cat moved to the nearest long table and flipped the bag over, dumping its contents onto the polished wood. Out rolled a few stamina and magicka potions, a couple lockpicks, some bruised apples, a dagger, the book he'd been reading the previous morning along with two other volumes, and lastly, four large hunks of rock, the pieces of the Dragonstone they had been able to recover from around the coffin. Some grains of sand and dirt spilled out as well but no one noticed. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Jarl.

Footsteps echoed through the stilted silence as the court wizard entered the hold alongside the steward, his pallid face contorted in irritation. "I swear Proventus, if you woke me up just to call me to breakfast I'll sear you to a crisp faster than you can say SWEET MOTHER IN SOVNGARDE! IS THAT THE DRAGONSTONE?" Farengar cried, going from tired and annoyed to angry and bereft in the span of a second. He shoved the Khajiit to the side in his hurry to evaluate the damage for himself. It didn't look good, though two of the pieces fitted together well, it was clear that there was a rather big part missing in the center where the other two chunks should've connected with the first two. "How did this happen?" the wizard asked no one in particular.

The Khajiit opened his mouth to answer but Lydia beat him to it, "Our lives were threatened, the Dragonborn used the Dragonstone as a last-minute weapon and saved us both" she replied. Disbelief spread plainly on the wizard's face but the Jarl refused to accept that Lydia would lie to him, she knew better than that.

"Why don't we hear it from the Dragonborn himself? It looked like he had something to say" Balgruuf offered, hoping to get to the bottom of this mess.

Farengar was even more doubtful than before however, "This is pointless! He's just going to spout the same lies his little bodyguard –"

"Quiet Farengar! Give the cat a chance to speak" Irileth snarled. The Khajiit couldn't believe his ears and neither could the young mage but he shut up nevertheless.

The Dragonborn had a few false starts before he was able to gather his wits enough to tell them his side of the story. He was nervous and fiddled with his leather gloves the whole time he was talking. In the end, his retelling matched that of his housecarl's, differing only on one important point, "I didn't kill the Draugr. Not on purpose anyway. You see, I could tell it was about to charge but I had nowhere to run so I panicked and that's when I shouted. It was pure coincidence that the Dragonstone got caught in the blast and smacked the Draugr in the face, killing it. Unfortunately, it broke on impact and the pieces scattered. We brought back the bits we could find but..." he eyed the poor reconstruction of the Dragonstone and smiled sheepishly.

Lydia groaned, raising one hand to brush through her ebony hair in exasperation. Both Irileth and Farengar were too stunned to say or do anything.

It was the Jarl who eventually broke the silence and what he said next was enough to make his court wizard's jaw drop, "It seems I owe you an apology. From what you have told me, it is clear that the sorry state of the Dragonstone and even of that of your housecarl have been the result of your shouting. And that is not your fault. I should have sent you to see the Greybeards as soon as you were able. They would have taught you to control this Voice, this Thu'um as it's called. Yet I let my own agenda get in the way" Balgruuf bowed his head to the Khajiit in a sincere gesture to show how sorry he was, "Please, go now to High Hrothgar. Farengar should be finished analyzing the stone by the time you return. Until then, good luck my friend"

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when the Khajiit and his housecarl exited the Temple of Kynareth, the former remaining suspicious of the latter who was ignoring him, too glad to be back on two feet to give her Thane the pleasure of getting on her nerves. They hadn't spoken since they'd left Dragonsreach that morning, their astonishment having taken hours to wear off. When it had, the cat instantly figured that his housecarl had pulled some strings to get him off the hook. Hence why he hadn't taken his eyes off the Nord the whole time they were being treated at the temple, not even flinching when he nearly walked into a grumpy Redguard because he'd been so focused on breaking his housecarl's stoic wall.

They wandered through the Wind District in this fashion, making it as far as The Bannered Mare before Lydia had finally had enough of her Thane's childish behavior. She stopped walking suddenly; tapping her recently healed foot impatiently as the Khajiit came to a stumbling halt in front of her. It was a good thing it had been a lazy Sundas or else it would have been impossible for them to talk in private. As it was, the marketplace was empty save for the merchants, too busy with their stock to listen in, and two middle-aged shoppers, too busy gossiping to care.

The Dragonborn was hoping for a more secluded area to voice his concerns but Lydia was leering at him so intensely, he had to oblige, "Okay, I don't want you to take this the wrong way... I mean I know this happens and it works because well... men are pigs I guess so... I just really wish you hadn't at least not for me unless it was for ... you?" The Khajiit, who had been staring at his feet during his spluttering, peaked up, his ears flicking slightly when he saw the annoyance in his housecarl's emerald eyes.

Lydia shrugged, "What are you –"

"Did you sleep with him?" the Khajiit cut her off, saying it so fast he was sure he'd bite through his tongue. He regretted his words as soon as he saw how hurt Lydia was by his question. _Great job Darko, what losing one friend wasn't enough? Stupid. _"I... I didn't mean... " he mewled; his mouth felt like it was full of ash.

There was a lull when the cat stared at the ground in shame and the housecarl carefully chose how to respond without losing her composure. "You're not very clever for a Khajiit, are you, my Thane?" she observed at last, her sad expression was replaced by a reflective one as if she hadn't been greatly insulted a second ago.

"No, I'm not. I'm an idiot and I'm immature and I cry too much and I can't fight and I'm pretty sure I was dropped on my head at birth. Or perhaps it's all the skooma that's rotted my brain. Either way, I'm sorry. So, so sorry" And he meant it, not only apologizing for his recent indiscretion but also for the shout and the sabercat and the worst by far, the Khajiit's unwarranted mistrust of her since Bleak Falls Barrow. _Jyric was right; I really am my own worst enemy. _

The Nord shook her head, returning to her usual indifferent exterior, "You're also too self-deprecating" she added, "But I forgive you"

The Khajiit beamed.

* * *

After a visit to the blacksmith and Arcadia's Cauldron, Lydia insisted they head to Jorrvaskr, home of the Companions, for some training before tackling the trek to High Hrothgar. The Khajiit was in no position to argue no matter how badly he didn't want to go back to that hall, so he followed along, head hung low. The Nord found his reaction strange at first but was given an idea of the situation when she saw the expression on Aela the Huntress' painted face as the Companion opened the door to greet them. There was only one word to describe that look: disgust. Lydia was sure that if she and Aela hadn't been sparring partners in the past, the Huntress would've slammed the door in their faces.

As things stood now, Aela hesitantly allowed them to enter Jorrvaskr, glaring a hole in the back of the Khajiit's head as he passed. "Lydia I have great respect for you but I can't help questioning your choice of company" the auburn-haired Nord growled, banging the oaken doors shut to express her displeasure.

The commotion brought a muscular Nord running from the living quarters below, his steel great-sword at the ready. He was taken aback to see the Khajiit standing near the entrance but he didn't seem enraged as his shield-sister was, actually he was glad. He lowered his weapon and embraced the cat like they were long-lost friends which, for all Lydia knew, they were. "So you came back for more kitty-pet? I knew our offer was too tempting to resist" he rumbled, his voice was uncharacteristically deep considering how gentle he was.

The Dragonborn chuckled, "Not today Farkas, we're just here for some training. We've got a long journey ahead of us and we want to be prepared" He could tell his friend was disappointed so he gave the man a playful nudge to cheer him up, "Hey you should teach me a few moves, you must've learned some new ones since I've been gone" he purred. Farkas nudged him back and nodded.

"Ugh either you two get a room or go out back and train, so long as there's no more of this..." The Huntress made a large movement with her arms in the direction of the two friends.

Lydia scrunched her brows, "... bonding?" she tried.

"If you must put it nicely, yes... Well? Get to it!" Aela snapped, scaring the Khajiit and Farkas enough so that they fled to the training grounds with their tails between their legs. Turning to the housecarl, the Huntress suggested that they grab a few mugs of mead and keep an eye on the young warriors outside on the bench.

"Sounds good, I was meaning to ask about what transpired here with you and the cat anyway" Lydia couldn't help smiling at how pissed her friend was at the mere mention of her Thane.

* * *

The day was getting cooler as time went on so when the two women had taken their seats on the rear porch of Jorrvaskr, they were quite comfortable. Nords thrived in the cold after all. They didn't talk for a bit, just watching the boys duel and sipping mead until they were sure they didn't need to interfere. Farkas had chosen to stick with a two-handed wooden sword for the training exercise while the Khajiit was experimenting with dual-wielding weapons. He had liked the flow he could achieve when he was using the axe and the sword simultaneously though he picked two swords this time.

They went at it without holding-back for the beginning of the session but they soon realized it was a waste of energy and it was pretty painful too when one landed a hit on the other. So they slowed and fought more cautiously. It was an odd match-up to say the least, the dark-haired Nord was strong and aggressive in his movements, going for the most damage per hit, the Khajiit was shorter and physically weaker but he was lithe and quick on his feet, making it easier for him to chain attacks together as well as dodge any counterattacks with ease.

If the Dragonborn had been any other Khajiit, he probably would've out-manoeuvred Farkas without breaking a sweat, but he wasn't. He was able to read the first two or three strikes and get out of the way except he was usually so eager to strike back that he was completely unprepared for the Nord's follow-up attacks which landed him dazed on the dirt many times.

"He's gotten better since I saw him last" Aela admitted, chugging her second mug of mead that evening. She stopped to wipe her mouth on her arm before turning away from the fight to face Lydia. Silver eyes met green and she knew she had the housecarl's full attention, "So you want to hear about your friend, hm?" The curiosity in Lydia's demeanor was enough of an answer so she began.

Aela had first laid eyes on the Khajiit near Pelagia Farm just outside Whiterun, a giant was causing a disturbance and she, Farkas and his brother Vilkas had been sent to take care of it. Farkas had been careless and ended up being stomped on by the beast; it was about to finish him off when an arrow struck the giant between the eyes, effectively finishing it off and leaving the Nord with only a few bruises. Funny enough, the twin brothers had immediately assumed it was their shield-sister who had landed the blow and they were already praising her when the Khajiit came running to check on Farkas who he'd seen being crushed. Apparently he'd fired the arrow in an attempt to scare the giant away; his perfect hit had been a fluke.

**Lydia snickered inwardly, "You should know that Khajiit is well versed in the way of dumb luck" she teased.**

"**Well I realize that now!" Aela huffed, appearing frustrated when she was really embarrassed with what had come next.**

She had informed the cat about the Companions; how it was a guild meant for melee-fighters to test their skills and adventure to do good in Skyrim. She invited him to Jorrvaskr, claiming he had potential there. She'd never regretted her own words as much as the ones that left her mouth that day. The Khajiit had nodded and actually followed them back to the mead hall, making conversation with the three Circle members on the way. Vilkas had been unsure about the whole situation but Farkas had taken to the fuzz-ball instantly. They became fast friends from that day onward.

The Companion's Harbinger, a greying Nord named Kodlak, shared Aela's high hopes for the Khajiit when they'd arrived. Only one person was adamantly against the cat joining, a high-ranking member named Skjor. His opinion of the Khajiit only worsened when they tested his skills against Vilkas. First of all, the cat had been ill-prepared, his arsenal pertaining of the hunting bow and iron arrows on his back with his melee weapon being a dagger. He also knew a basic flame spell but no Nord would have accepted that as a proper means of attack. They allowed him to pick out some gear from their armory and he'd used a steel sword. No shield, not even clawing with his other hand. He lasted about ten seconds against the elder twin and by then Aela's trust in the Khajiit had been dashed.

**The Huntress stood up to refill her mug for the third time, downing its contents in one swig and then refilling it again. She sat back down across from her friend who was still on her first mug. "What?" Aela asked when she saw the incredulous look on Lydia's face.**

"**Nothing, I just didn't know the Khajiit could use magic" the housecarl evaded, though it was true. **_**Why didn't he use fire on that Draugr? **_

For some reason, Kodlak remained optimistic and he sent Farkas and the Khajiit on a mission together as a test. Surprisingly, they came back a day later with hardly a scratch between them. Things improved from there and the Khajiit completed a few more quests on his own. He had been a Companion for two to three weeks at the most and already he was being considered for a spot in the Circle, the elite group in Jorrvaskr consisting of Aela, Farkas, Vilkas, Skjor and Kodlak of course. They had taken the cat down to the Underforge for the induction ceremony where their offer was put on the table.

**Lydia had no idea that the Huntress and the other members of the Circle were of the beast blood, werewolves, so she did not know how literal Aela was being when she said "their offer was put on the table" which was actually the blood the Khajiit was supposed to drink in order to join their ranks. "But he refused. He left the Underforge and we didn't hear about him again until a week later when the dragon attacked" **

It was amazing how much the Khajiit had been through in the time he'd been in Skyrim and it hadn't occurred to Lydia till now that she hardly knew anything about her Thane. Aela had forgotten how recently those events had happened, they felt like ages ago.

They were both lost in their thoughts when they heard cheering coming from the grounds. Farkas was flat on his rump rubbing his aching shoulders whereas the Khajiit was prancing about in celebration, "Hah! Yes, finally! How you like me now, dog-breath?" he looked ridiculous because he was doing this while riddled in bruises and cuts, one of his eyes was even swollen shut from his losses. He looked so proud of himself though, it was hard not to be infected by his cheeriness.

"Yeah you got me. Can we please go in now? I'm starving and I think your eye is going to disappear into your head if you don't get that treated" Farkas barked, raising himself to a standing position so they could go together. The Khajiit nodded fiercely, waving a hand at Lydia, signalling his departure. She nodded back, watching as the two boys entered the warmth of Jorrvaskr, getting a whiff of fire and food cooking in the pot as the door shut behind them.

It was just the two women and the crisp Whiterun night now, and a seemingly endless supply of mead. "He called us monsters you know, the Khajiit, he said we were nothing but glorified... mercenaries" Aela sighed, she'd finished her mead but didn't get up for more to Lydia's relief, the housecarl couldn't handle a drunk Huntress and the Khajiit at the same time.

"I'm sorry, he rarely thinks about what he says... He rarely thinks in general" Lydia realized. The Huntress smiled appreciatively.

"And how would you know that? He'd never mentioned you so I'm assuming you had the misfortune of meeting only recently" Aela grabbed a bottle of milk to wash down the cheap mead aftertaste and she sipped it slowly as they talked. The beast blood had endowed them all with a ravenous appetite and a stomach of Skyforge steel to match.

Lydia cringed a little before saying, "Well I've known him for three days, I believe. They've been extremely trying and eye-opening days mind you. He actually managed to accuse me of prostituting myself to the Jarl in exchange for his pardon"

The Huntress was so unready for such a statement that she spat a mouthful of milk at the windows of Jorrvaskr in her surprise. "Hah! He's a bigger fool than I thought" she said when she'd recovered from her outburst, "So why do you stay with him?"

"I have to. He's my Thane as well as the Dragonborn. I do what he tells me without question" the housecarl answered, resignation in her tone. The Huntress nodded her head knowingly. Lydia was right, she had no choice in the matter, and it was all part of being a housecarl. The Nord's acceptance of her duty was one of the things that attracted Aela to her; her skills with the sword and shield was a nice bonus.

That didn't prevent Aela from poking fun at her friend though, "You can't stop him from being the Dragonborn... but you could always sleep with Balgruuf and have him assign you a new Thane" she joked.

Lydia splashed the Huntress with the last of her mead, "Very funny" she grumbled. Aela just grinned.

* * *

Dinner that evening had been a quiet affair in Dragonsreach. Farengar was pouting sourly into his soup; he had spent the better part of that Sundas deciphering the pieces of the Dragonstone still intact. The text on the back had been carved in the language of dragons so he'd have to translate the words then try to figure out the rest of the writing on his own using the books he had available to him. The map on the front of the stone was what bothered him the most, he couldn't figure out what the locations were supposed to be. He had figured the written passage would give him a clue to that information once he'd completed it.

Irileth's concern lay in the Jarl's determination to let the Dragonborn leave unscathed after screwing up a second time. She hadn't had the opportunity to confront him until after their meal was finished, when Balgruuf was no longer being pestered by his citizens. The Dunmer walked right up to the Jarl's seat not bothering to hide her objective. "Why did you let him go so easily? You realize he's a danger to those around him let alone himself" she seethed.

His housecarl was one of the few Balgruuf allowed to speak to him in such a manner and he counted on her to be honest with him, "It is out of my hands Irileth. I received a letter requesting the Dragonborn meet with the Greybeards immediately. Whether he does is up to him but I have done my part" he explained calmly. He wasn't at all fazed to see his housecarl's wine-red eyes remain as unsure as ever.

"And who is this high authority that commands even Jarl Balgruuf the Greater?" the elf demanded to know.

Balgruuf always hated when she used his full title, it made him feel like a child being scolded. "A friend and a good man" he said simply.

Irileth grunted, "If you say so my Jarl. Though, if you asked me, I'd say you were going soft"

Chapter End.

**AN: Whew this was a long chapter. Now that I've let the characters relax a bit, there should be more action in the next one.**

**On the itinerary is a brief stop in Ivarstead then the treacherous steps up to High Hrothgar. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Masser and Secunda

**Chapter Five: Masser and Secunda**

_There were sparks, they flashed to life before dying again a second later, if it hadn't been night-time in Elsweyr, Darko wouldn't have been able to see them at all. He tried again, holding his little paw up level with his chest and then focusing his mind to access the magic. More sparks then nothing. He was getting impatient so he focused as hard as he could in an attempt to force the fire to emerge. It flared up too much then, sending the Khajiit boy flying back with a few whiskers less than he had. "Agh I don't get it, I read the book and know the spell and everything and it still isn't working!" he cried, tossing his arms up in aggravation. _

_Jyric laughed, the look on his friend's face was priceless. When he saw that his humor wasn't helping, the Breton got to his feet from the porch steps and stood there with his legs slightly apart, his posture as straight as a soldier's. "You have to remember, the magic is already there. It exists in everything and you're just borrowing it from the earth" he raised one palm facing towards the open desert that their houses looked out on. He loosened up his position, leaning into the conducting arm, bending his knees and keeping his lowered arm at an angle to his body for balance. From his palm, a stream of fire simmered through the air, a beacon of light in the starless landscape. _

_Tynan, who had been sleeping on the porch next to his master, opened one eye to see what all the fuss was about. The fox had only lived with Jyric for a month and already he was accustomed to the child's constant practicing of magic. He went back to his nap, comforted by the warmth that emanated from the spell. _

"_Alright, try it again. This time with feeling!" the Breton said as a joke, releasing the flames. He laughed again when the Khajiit couldn't help but smile. Jyric's mother always said to do things with feeling and it worked for her, she was the best healer and fortune teller in Dune and was known throughout the country for her restorative remedies. She could also be a little eccentric. _

_Staying at a distance so not to accidentally set their homes on fire, the Khajiit mirrored his friend's pose and concentrated once again on the spell. This time he didn't push for the fire, instead he closed his eyes and imagined that the flames were indeed an object to be borrowed. He reached out with his mind to take it, recreating the feeling he had whenever Jyric let him hold Tynan; he had to be gentle, warm and above all, respectful. Darko opened his pale-blue eyes with those emotions still burning in his chest and let it go, exhaling at the same time as a small but steady flame whispered from his palm. He could only hold it a few seconds before he slumped in exhaustion onto the sand. _

_The last thing Darko heard was his mother calling him in for supper before he drifted off to sleep._

* * *

The Khajiit hated wagons. He figured it was the constant threat of turning wheels within tail-length or the bumpiness of the ride or the awkward silence when he had nothing to say to the driver or perhaps it was because he'd almost gotten flambéed by a large, black dragon after having snuck onto a wagon on its way to Helgen. _Well, I admit this is an improvement from that time, _he thought, getting a jolt to the buttocks as the driver lead the vehicle onto another cobbled road. "Gods Lydia, couldn't you Nords have paved the road with something smoother?" the cat asked, he had to time his words properly or risk biting his tongue off.

His housecarl shook her head, "You're the one who wanted to get to Ivarstead by night-fall, this was the only way to do it with the coin we had" she reasoned. The Dragonborn blushed when he recalled counting their funds, combined they had 450 septims after he'd sold his bow which wasn't nearly enough to buy a horse for each of them.

They hit a particularly large rock next, almost bouncing the Khajiit right out of the carriage; luckily he crashed into Lydia before he could be tossed out completely. "Drive over the whole damn mountain, why don't you, idiot!" the housecarl roared, shoving the frightened Khajiit away when he refused to let go of her even after the wagon had leveled out. The driver, an elderly Nord by the name of Bjorlam, shrank down into his seat. The poor man's sight had been going for years and now he could barely see three feet in front of his sloping nose. Yet he had been nice enough to offer them a ride straight to Ivarstead, despite the town not being a major hold and therefore not a stop he usually made.

When the cat quietly reminded his housecarl of this fact, Lydia felt a rush of guilt but her stubbornness wouldn't allow her to apologize directly. So the two passengers and the driver sat in silence for a while, watching as the green hillsides and the odd elk or deer passed them by, the foreboding silhouettes of the mountains following them like a vast beast wanting to swallow them whole.

By noon, the Dragonborn had lost most of the feeling in his backside so he was no longer gritting his teeth in anticipation of the coming obstacles. This freed him up to chat with his companions in the carriage though the driver didn't seem interested in talking much. "So I read a bit about these Greybeards before we left and is it just me or do they sound a bit... sheltered?" the Khajiit asked in the politest way he could think of.

Lydia sighed, taking the bait, "The Greybeards are an old and well-respected order, my Thane. They're harmless. And you won't be staying with them forever. Learn what you can and whatever you do afterwards is up to you" she said easily, leaning back in her seat and putting her hands behind her head. The road had cleared up and the hills had given way to flatter forested areas; the carriage ride would be a lot smoother from here on out.

"Actually I already know what we're gonna do after this trip" the Dragonborn mewed, for once he was a step ahead of his snarky housecarl. She tilted her head to look at him in suspicion. In answer, the Khajiit took a small note from inside one of the books in his bag and passed it to his companion. She sat up to read it, scrunching her eyebrows when she saw the opening line.

'Dear Darko,

Meet me in Skyrim at a place called Helgen.

It's been much too long.

A friend'

She gave the note back to her Thane, brimming with curiosity, "Is this why you were in Helgen? And your name..." she could see nostalgia clouding in the cat's eyes along with a sweet sadness. She bit her lip, unsure whether she should press him harder or leave him be.

"Yea... Darko, that's me" he started casually, he could see how much it bothered his housecarl to learn his name only now but there wasn't much he could do to change that. "And yea, I had crossed the border and snuck onto ... err, under a prisoner wagon to get into Helgen. My friend wasn't there though I did get to see an execution and almost lose my head to a snapping dragon so that's always a plus" the Khajiit was trying to be funny but he was failing miserably, most likely due to how disappointed his expression was, "I escaped with one of the prisoners and wandered to a town called Riverwood. The blacksmith there pointed me to Whiterun and... well... you know the rest"

Lydia, to the Dragonborn's surprise, actually seemed enraged by his story, "Are you seriously telling me you came all the way to Skyrim from..."

"Elsweyr" he pitched in quickly.

"Elsewhere... Because this note told you to? There's not even a time or date on there. Are you really that stupid?" she was so inexplicably angry she had stood up in the carriage without realizing it.

"Excuse me but we've arriv-"

"Shut up Bjorlam!" the Nord woman snapped.

* * *

Though everything was lit purely by moon and torch light, it was plain to see how different Ivarstead was from Whiterun. There was no wall surrounding the town, no hold run by a Jarl and the only buildings were residential homes, farms and the Vilemyr Inn immediately left of their path into town. _At least everything is easy to find here. _The Khajiit noticed that though the town was small, it still had its own guards roaming around and they eyed him and Lydia closely as they entered the inn.

Inside it was a lot quieter and cozier than the Bannered Mare which always seemed to be bustling in the few days he'd stayed there. The only other patrons were at the bar; they didn't pay the Khajiit or his housecarl any mind, too busy drowning in their own troubles it seemed. The Dragonborn went up to the innkeeper and paid for their room for the night as well as buying him and his housecarl a dinner of goat stew and a piece of bread each. They sat across from each other in a table as far from the other guests as possible.

They ate in silence and avoided making eye contact with anyone including each other; the Khajiit was content in staring at the rotting wooden table. When they'd finished, they decided to go straight to their room and bed.

The room they'd rented was lightly furnished with a small cabinet in the far corner, a large bed and end table pushed up against the wall adjacent to that and a desk with a squat chair beside it. They dropped their equipment and bags on the desk then the Khajiit turned to face the walls as Lydia changed into more comfortable clothes. The Dragonborn had made the mistake of misplacing his casual wear so he was forced to remain in his light armor. They shared the bed, lying as far on their side of the mattress as they could without falling off entirely, facing away from each other.

There was a single window in the tight room and the Khajiit could just see through it from his view on the bed. It was a full-moon outside but it was alone without the larger moon or a single star to keep it company._ Strange I thought they always came out together. _He scooted a little in place, trying to lie in a way so his armor wasn't digging into his fur. With every movement, there was a tiny metallic click as the various pieces of his gear were bunched together then apart with his shifting.

"What are you doing?" he heard Lydia groan, halting him in his efforts to relax.

"I can't sleep, my clothes keep pinching me" the Khajiit whispered. He didn't know how but he could tell his housecarl was not amused by his plight. Upon thinking on his words a second longer, he figured out why, "Oh gods no! I'm not some perv... Look it's really hurting okay?" he hissed. He didn't get a reply so he assumed she'd fallen asleep. _Or she's ignoring me..._ As stealthily as he could, he peaked over his shoulder to see if his housecarl was indeed sleeping. _Hmmm... she seems peaceful enough. _She hadn't moved an inch since they'd lain down though, which was highly unlikely if she was dozing. "Oi, Lydders!"

"Call me that again and I'll gut you" came her reply, she sounded upset, less so than in the wagon but it was there even when she was whispering.

Not wanting to continue talking without seeing the Nord's reactions, the Khajiit flipped over to see his housecarl's back. "That was just to get your attention. Why were you mad at me? Why are you **still** mad at me?" He whispered harshly. It irritated him to no end when she didn't turn around as well.

"I am angry because I am stuck with a Thane who is careless, a Dragonborn who has no idea what he's doing, and a cat-man who acts like a child and they're all the same person- you!" she paused to gather herself and breathe, whisper-yelling had a way of sucking out all your oxygen.

"Hey, you've known all that stuff since we met so why now? Why did you freak out in the wagon? Were you just building up to it or something?" he turned onto his back, automatically crossing his arms in front of his chest. His ear piercings were caught in the pillow case but he ignored it. "You weren't even this angry when I called you a who-"

"I just don't understand how you can follow a note across the world to a place you don't seem to know anything about" she interrupted, finally willing to turn on her back and face him. She could see an outline of her Thane thanks to the pale moonlight and his bright blue eyes that glowed a little in the dark.

Like all Khajiits, The Dragonborn had night vision so he could see everything quite clearly though being able to read his housecarl's expression was a different ability all together, one he didn't have. _And I thought humans were supposed to be most expressive. Guess I should be thankful she isn't an Argonian. _He was glad his housecarl couldn't see him crinkle his face in aversion to that image.

"It's not that hard to get really. Haven't you ever had a friend or someone else you'd cross oceans for?" he asked, not mocking in any way, he genuinely wanted to know.

Lydia thought back but couldn't come up with anything. She didn't remember her parents, Balgruuf, Irileth, everyone she knew in Dragonsreach were good people and Aela was a good friend but oceans were deep and dark and full of ghosts. "No. I don't believe so" she answered, her voice was stiff, like it hadn't occurred to her that those sorts of relationships existed outside stories. She rolled to face the other way again; she was tired and didn't feel like discussing anything further.

The Khajiit had no problem reading that reaction. Sighing, he swiveled back to his side as well, his ear rings ripping the pillow fabric as he went. _Oops. _He hoped the Nord hadn't heard that. He waited a few minutes in case. Then, being careful not to shift the mattress, he lifted himself to get a good glance at his housecarl to check if she'd noticed. She was fast asleep though, her breathing was soft and he'd never seen her so serene. The cat smiled, settling back onto the bed and taking one more look out the window. The moon was still there, solitary as ever.

* * *

The Dragonborn didn't know if he was sore as an aftermath of the wagon ride, the practice fights with Farkas or if it was the first 300 steps but by Sithis he was already plenty sick of the mountain road despite its gorgeous scenery. Already they were elevated enough to see all of Ivarstead and the forests in the distance and even glimmers of the land beyond. The sky was a cool grey that morning but cloudless. It really wasn't a bad day to be hiking.

As they trudged along, the Khajiit heard a gentle bleating by his feet. It came from a mountain goat that had been following them since they left Ivarstead earlier and it had persisted in going up the steps with them. "Go away! I just had one of you for dinner last night" he yowled, baring his feline teeth at the animal. It wasn't threatened at all by his display and continued walking with a lazy look on its charcoal face.

"Don't take your frustrations out on the goat" Lydia called from behind him, she'd kept herself at a consistent three paces back in order to watch over her Thane and also, he suspected, because she didn't feel like talking to him directly. She saw his narrow shoulders rise and fall in a huff as he acknowledged her words.

They passed a light-haired Nord woman, who had looked up from the stone etching she'd been studying to stare at the strange trio. The Khajiit gave her a friendly wave and a grin. He would've stopped to talk and check out the plaque for himself but his housecarl didn't slow for him, neither did the goat.

Running to catch up with his companions, his keen eyes spotted a strange movement further ahead. Darting between Lydia and their woollen friend, he got a closer look. It appeared to be a skeleton of some sort, possibly a fish but it was made entirely of ice. Without any wings or visible means of flight, the Khajiit was confused to see it floating around, slithering through the air like a sea-snake through water. When he was within a few feet of the thing, it spotted him, a bone-chilling hiss escaping its fanged maw. _Uh oh._

"Heads up!" he whirled to the sound of Lydia's voice in time to see an axe rip through the air inches from his scarred nose. It was going so fast and spinning so much it left a trail of metallic ringing in its wake before embedding itself in the creature's face, causing it to explode into tiny blue flakes.

The Khajiit was flabbergasted to say the least. He picked up the axe in a daze, handing it back to his housecarl. "What was that thing?" he gulped, the echoes of its shriek resounding eerily in his head.

"An elemental spirit. We call them Ice Wraiths. I recommend **not** running straight toward them" Lydia explained, she hooked the axe onto her belt and began climbing again. The goat followed her almost as if it had chosen her as the new leader. The Khajiit glared at it fiercely, oddly enough, feeling betrayed.

* * *

Mid-day came and went and they were over half-way up the 7000 steps. Their progress had slowed significantly however, due to the harsh weather conditions at that altitude. Up there, it was freezing and snowing constantly and the great winds only made the cold worse. The path had become treacherous as well, having been worn away over time, there were steep drops and jagged cliffs at every turn. The goat had an easy ride as Lydia was carrying it on her back, its wool and her Nord blood keeping her warm enough to continue without being too overwhelmed by the environment.

The Khajiit wasn't quite so fortunate, sure he was covered in a natural pelt and his armor on top of it but he was from the deserts of Dune and hadn't been in Skyrim long enough to become acclimated to its hostile winter weather. He was shuddering profusely and no matter how tight he wrapped his arms around his body, he didn't feel warmer. He attempted a flame spell next but he couldn't concentrate over the chattering of his teeth and the howling of the wind.

Seeing how badly her Thane was struggling, Lydia wrapped one arm around his shoulders, and led him to a small cave she'd spotted a little ways off the steps. It was still cold as a Frost Dragon's breath but at least they were sheltered from the worst of the storm. She placed the goat down next to the cat and huddled up beside her Thane, rubbing her bare arms where the steel armor didn't protect her. She could feel the Dragonborn shivering against her shoulder but she couldn't bring herself to hug him closer, instead she hugged her knees.

They stayed close together like that for a time. The goat, making itself welcome next to the cat, groused every few minutes but really all they could hear was the wind breaking against the mountain and the sound of the snow shifting, sometimes falling off the peaks in minute avalanches.

Gradually, the Khajiit was able to stop shaking long enough to raise his left palm and cast a flame spell. The fire bloomed in his hand where he kept it at a decent size, warming all three of the companions with its glow. "My friend taught me this spell, it's the only one I've ever bothered to learn" he said softly. The orange flames reflected in his icy eyes as he spoke; it reminded Lydia of the red moon: Masser. "He was always looking for new things to learn... but he also made time for me. No matter how badly he wanted to finish a book or master a spell, he always set aside a part of his day so we could play or talk or do nothing at all" He shifted his gaze from the dazzling flames to look at his housecarl, his eyes were sad again, filled with the same sorrow Lydia had noticed when they were talking on the carriage but he was smiling too. "I know you think I'm a fool for chasing my friend over thousands of miles because he sent me a vague letter. Actually there's probably a ton of reasons why you think I'm a fool. Regardless, I need to find him. I don't know how and if he doesn't send me another letter I won't know how long it'll take but I have to see him again"

The fire went out and they were immersed in semi-darkness, the cave being lighted solely by the reflection of the stars on the fresh fallen snow. Night had arrived without them realizing and with it came calmer winds, a relief at last from the storm. Neither the Khajiit nor the Nord moved; both too caught up in their conversation. Only the goat decided it was high time to go. It left the cave, braying along its merry way.

"Lydia, as your Thane I order you to do whatever it is you want to do when we are done in High Hrothgar" the Khajiit commanded suddenly. He took off his glove and held out his paw to the housecarl, "As your friend-slash-acquaintance, I ask you to follow me to the ends of Skyrim and back in search of a man you know nothing about except perhaps that he has very nice handwriting" it seemed like a joke yet his face and his tone was serious. He was shivering again, especially his exposed paw which he was waiting on Lydia to take or reject.

Her face had become unreadable, how she was able to do that at will, the Khajiit wished he knew. She seemed to be searching his features for something, a glimmer of determination perhaps or the proud confidence to see his quest through. What she saw was fear and uncertainty and loneliness.

_Irileth was right, I really am too soft for my own good. _With that in mind, Lydia removed her gauntlet, the cold permeating her skin immediately. She breathed on her hand in a futile attempt to warm it, finding herself staring at her fingers, callused from years of wielding a blade and white as starlight. "Lead the way" she replied at last, pale meeting dark as she clapped her palm to her Thane's outstretched paw. It felt like plunging into the sea.

Chapter End.

**AN: Why is this chapter so cheesy? I blame the Amelie soundtrack I constantly listen to while writing. **

**Anyway, let the Greybeard shenanigans begin. I'm changing Arngeir up a little so he's more... approachable? Or in other words, easier for me to write... **


	6. The Art of Shouting in the Snow

**AN: Si-Hara is pronounced "See-Hara" (Hara like you're about to say "heart" but with a soft "ah" instead of "t")**

**Chapter Six: The Art of Shouting in the Snow**

They left the cave behind in high spirits, the Khajiit more so than his housecarl who was still trying to comprehend exactly what she'd gotten herself into. Everything had felt so dream-like, the well-placed cavern, the weather clearing to a beautiful blue-velvet sky, the stars and the moons reflecting their light onto the clear snow. Almost clear, there were hoof prints scattered throughout the path they'd been taking, definitely from the goat.

"You know, this isn't so bad. I thought the 7000 steps would be a lot worse but everything's so pretty up here" the cat exclaimed. He inhaled deeply, taking in the sights. From their point of view on the mountain, it looked as if the sky stretched on forever in all directions, as if they were the only two people left on Nirn trapped between a sea of darkness below and the moons and stars above.

It would have been terrifying for most people and Lydia did feel a twinge of fear every time she walked too close to the edge and saw nothing there but at the same time, it was good to see her Thane so happy. She smiled subtly as she crunched through the snow behind him, watching as he bounced around like a child.

A few minutes more passed in this way, when without warning, the Khajiit stopped dead in his tracks. "Ah geez I ruined it didn't I? I knew I shouldn't have said anything" he used his paws to cover his ears and turned to Lydia who had halted a good couple lengths behind him.

"I can assure you I have no idea what you're talking abou-" a fearsome roar filled the haunting night air before the housecarl could finish.

Standing not five meters away from the duo was what the cat could only describe as the hell-spawn of a werewolf and an ape. The Nords called it a troll. It bellowed again, beating its massive paws against its chest in a threatening challenge to the Khajiit. As a response, the Dragonborn looked right in its black-marble eyes and unsheathed his new twin steel swords. "Lydia, don't attack yet alright? I want to try something" he yelled, gripping his weapons tighter and swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. She complied with hesitation, her fingers remaining curled around the handle of her war axe in case she needed to draw it quickly.

The Khajiit evaded to the side when the troll started off with a charge, his heart already racing. Not being the brightest creature, the brawny beast repeated its attack in aggravation with the same result except this time the Dragonborn was ready to counter. Grounding himself, the cat rested his arms by his side and aimed his gaze directly at the troll. It was leaping towards him at full tilt so he only had one chance. "Fus!" he shouted when it was in mid-jump, expecting to see the troll soaring to its death over the cliffs. There was no wind however, no force that escaped his jaws to defeat the beast. _Oh fuck me. _

It barreled into him like a tidal wave, knocking the air from his lungs and the swords from his paws, burying him deep in the powdery snow. For a second he thought he was drowning but was saved by a strong pair of hands wrenching him from the ground and tossing him against the mountain's face rather carelessly. "Ngh Lydia be gentle with me, it's my first time" he managed to mumble, his eyelids wouldn't open fully he was so cold.

He could feel a warm breath on his face which he found strange though it was the smell that really struck him: blood and rotten flesh. Quick as a serpent, he ducked as the troll's fist came crashing through the stone where his head had been, bits of rock and ice showering onto him as he crawled away, his eyes wide open. The beast had gotten its paw stuck in the mountain-side, giving the Khajiit time to find his weapons while it pried itself out. As expected, his swords were lying right where he'd been standing before the barrage so he picked them up and surged back towards the troll in one swift loop.

"Fus!" the Dragonborn tried again, getting nothing but the beginnings of a sore throat for his efforts. The troll had freed itself and proceeded to stampede towards the cat, this time reaching out to claw at the Khajiit rather than simply attempt to crush him. It was able to get in one slash but was repelled by a sword swipe to the thigh, sending the beast rearing in anguish. Deciding to bear the pain in his arm and go for the kill while the troll was distracted by its own injury, the Khajiit crouched low then dashed to close the distance, only surging upwards when the creature had hollered to the sky in its agitation. He severed the troll's neck in a single stroke, its blood raining onto his fur as he stepped aside to avoid its falling body. It hit the ground with a thump, the snow turning a gruesome shade of red around it.

"Heh, did you see that? I beat him and I didn't even shout!" he yelped happily, sauntering over to where his housecarl was watching. He took a healing potion from her pack and poured it on the scratches he'd sustained during the fight, smiling wider when he saw how quickly the magic worked to repair the damage.

"Oh you were brilliant my Thane" she said in such a way that the Khajiit couldn't tell if she was being sincere or her usual smart-alecky self. She tossed the empty bottle over the edge of the path when her Thane gave it to her, too lost in his pride to do it himself.

His conceit was soon replaced by wonder however. "Actually, why couldn't I shout? I thought it was a do-it-on-command type of ability" he worded it badly but his housecarl understood what he meant. It was strange that his Voice would come and go like it had, especially considering it was the greatest weapon given to mortals to fight the dragons. What use was a weapon that worked sometimes but left at others?

"Perhaps it only works on your allies and vaguely important ancient artifacts" Lydia suggested, remembering how easily the Dragonborn had shouted back in the barrow.

The Khajiit wasn't amused; he still had nightmares about that incident and the image of Arvel's tattered corpse sticking in his mind was not what he needed at the moment. "I guess I'd better ask the Greybeards about it" he shrugged, "Come on, I can see their sanctuary from here"

* * *

Sanctuary was an understatement; the Greybeard's home was more like a castle with its tall battlements, massive central tower, and impressive stone steps leading to two separate but equally vast doors. A large stone carving of a dragon's head guarded the entrances, their slit-like eyes instilling fear in any unsuspecting guests.

The wind had picked up again so the Khajiit was in a hurry to get inside but his housecarl had stopped when he was already climbing the steps. "What's wrong?" the Dragonborn called against the rushing gales, he could tell she was nervous which made him nervous in return.

"I don't know if I'm welcome, my Thane. They might not like outsiders" she answered, clutching at her arms to shield herself from the wind. "The Dragonborn doesn't count" she added, anticipating the cat's response.

The Khajiit scowled. _What is she psychic now too? _He trembled a bit as he descended to be closer to the Nord. "Look if they don't like it then we'll leave together but you are not staying out here alone" he reassured her, "and would it kill you to call me by my name? I've kept it from you for so long I thought you'd try it out at least"

Lydia knew what her Thane was trying to do, he was distracting her from the slight possibility that the Greybeards were in fact crazy old men and not as harmless as she'd said they'd be. After all, the two companions had hardly been on the mountain a day and they were already going insane from the abominably low temperature. Just a few hours ago she'd promised to traverse Skyrim with an immature cat for gods' sake. "Alright, you lead and I'll follow. At least if they see you first, they'll be less likely to turn hostile" she said reluctantly.

Her Thane agreed, taking the steps two at a time so he could enter the temple ahead of her. When he'd managed to pull the doors open against the breeze and squeeze himself inside, he was awed by what he saw. The interior was dark, light coming exclusively through the thin windows across the high roof of the temple and from small fire pits scattered throughout the floor. Dragons, like the ones over the doorways, were carved into the support beams, each as fierce looking as the next. Everything appeared to be built from stone, including the crudely carved tablets near the back of the structure and the steps that lead up to the other sections of the castle the Khajiit couldn't see.

He was even more surprised at being immediately greeted by an elderly, robed Nord with an impressive white beard. _That explains the name of their order, heh. _The Khajiit smiled crookedly at the man, feeling a cold wind brush his back when Lydia came into the temple after him. She in turn, stared quizzically at the old monk standing uncomfortably close to her Thane, her hand instinctively reaching for her weapon.

"Welcome Dragonborn, I am Arngeir, speaker for the Greybeards" the elder said, his voice was rough like sandpaper but soothing at the same time. Arngeir reached out and shook Lydia's hand with both of his thin, blue-veined ones, bowing his hooded head to the housecarl in respect.

It was needless to say, terribly awkward. "Uhm. I apologize but I'm not the Dragonborn, he is" she nodded her head slightly towards the Khajiit who was still smiling though in disbelief and embarrassment rather than politeness.

The Greybeard however, kept his composure with a discipline rivalling the housecarl's. "Ah yes, of course. Well then, will you demonstrate your Thu'um for us, Khajiit?" he rasped, motioning the cat to the center of the room where three other members of the Greybeards were standing in a wide triangle.

Arngeir joined the group before the Dragonborn could tell him the truth at which point the cat was helpless to oppose them. He felt Lydia's hand on his back, urging him towards the center, her eyes revealing nothing about what she thought was going to happen. _Thanks for the vote of confidence, _he thought.

When all eyes were on him and his foot paws had reached the tiles in the middle of the temple, he inhaled and puffed out his chest, readying himself for the shout or what would come after if he failed. _Alright Darko, you can do this! If you can't you're dead. Lydia's dead. Oh gods we're dead. _"FUS!" he shouted, the volume and strength of his voice carrying through the temple in an impressive display of his vocal prowess but there was no wind, no force, no Thu'um.

The Khajiit slumped his shoulders, he saw Lydia taking a step to approach him but she was prevented from going further by Arngeir who had his arm raised in front of her, his misty grey eyes never leaving the Dragonborn. The rest of the Greybeards as well, seemed to be evaluating the cat, none of them looked angry or like they were about to shout him to Oblivion. He blushed deeply; he'd been panicking the whole time for nothing.

"Might I ask, Dragonborn, when the last time you used your Thu'um was? I'm assuming you have shouted before and that you know how?" Arngeir asked not unkindly, strangely enough, there was no doubt in his tone either, like there wasn't the slightest possibility that the Khajiit in front of him was lying about being the Dovahkiin.

"Actually I was meaning to tell you, as of today I haven't been able to shout. I tried twice at a troll but it came out as regular shouting. The first time I shouted I was ... caught with my pants down" he admitted, using a phrase he'd heard Balgruuf say not too long ago. "Same with the second time now that I think about it, wait maybe that's it! Maybe I need to be in emotional distress to shout"

Before the Khajiit had a chance to pat himself on the back for his awesome deductive reasoning, Arngeir was already shaking his head in disagreement. "No, I'm afraid that is not how the Voice works. You see, the Voice is essentially an ancient magic accessed through words of power. Emotions play little role in its use"

_Words of power? _The Dragonborn was brought back to Bleak Falls Barrow, before he shouted, before Arvel was killed, to the wall, the chanting and the glowing word. He'd almost forgotten that was where he'd learned "fus", he'd been too busy blocking out the bandit's death that he was also ignoring everything else that happened that day.

"Dragonborn, focus. This is a serio-"

"There was a word wall!" the Khajiit spoke up rather rudely, not noticing the offended look on the Greybeard's wizened face, "With normal magic, you draw on the power already in the world to use it but the Voice is no normal magic. I think I must've been reaching for the knowledge in the wall to use the shout so when I left it, I couldn't access the knowledge anymore" he paused to catch his breath and scan the room to see if he was on the right track.

The three Greybeards he didn't know the names of were looking at him still with blank or uninterested stares. Lydia had her head in her hands from the headache that was surfacing thanks to her Thane's disrespectful behavior. Arngeir was the only one who seemed willing to hear the young Dragonborn out.

"So all I need is a way to tap into the wall's wisdom without being right next to it and I'll be able to shout anywhere! Right?" he looked desperately at Arngeir for confirmation.

The elder looked thoughtful, considering the Khajiit in front of him with fading eyes. "You are smarter than you appear, boy. Though you seem to be missing something" he grunted, running his hand through his beard. He saw a glimmer of confusion in the Dragonborn's expression so he added, "Why is it, do you think, the Dovahkiin is able to use the Thu'um within moments of learning a new word when it would take every other mortal years to become so proficient?"

"Because they're born with the blood and soul of a dragon?" the cat tried, reciting the words he'd read a few nights ago though he couldn't grasp exactly how that would make shouting easier. "And the Voice originated with dragons so..."

"Correct. You, Dragonborn, are in the unique position to be able to steal a dragon's soul and therefore its knowledge" Arngeir replied. He watched the light come on in the Khajiit's fuzzy head with a quiet approval.

"And I absorbed that dragon's soul back in Whiterun... I remember being overwhelmed by it. Really, all I have to do is delve into that dragon's awareness and then..." the Dragonborn stood up straighter, flexing his paws by his side and keeping his eyes on the stone tablets near the back of the sanctuary. He couldn't help flicking his tail from side to side, he was too excited. _Got to stay calm... breathe. _His posture relaxed. _Like a moth landing on your finger, Darko, light and warm. _"Fus!" the blue wind burst from his throat, waves of invisible force pushing away at the stones that comprised the temple, shaking them but doing no real harm. It dissipated quickly, leaving the Khajiit to grin broadly at his accomplishment. _Nailed it._

* * *

It was decided that the lessons would begin after the Dragonborn and his housecarl had a good night's rest. The Greybeards felt they deserved it following the journey the two companions had endured. Besides, the order needed time to ponder the Dovahkiin's unexpected naiveté. The adventurers were lead to a small room containing two beds, a table and a bookcase full of texts on everything from cooking to the history of the Greybeard order. There were two torches on sconces as well, in case they needed to use them to walk the dark passages of High Hrothgar.

They were also given a dinner of dried meat, bread, fruit leather and water which they ate slowly, not accustomed to the tough texture of the food. "Hey this reminds me, whatever happened to that goat?" the Khajiit wondered, gnawing at a particularly stubborn piece of what he assumed was pork.

"The Greybeards are probably feasting on it right now if this is all they have to eat" Lydia remarked, she had given up on chewing through the fruit leather and settled on nibbling the bread. It was stale. Her Thane gulped, he'd liked that goat even if it had chosen the Nord over him.

The rest of the meal was consumed without talking. It wasn't the same silence as when they were dining in Vilemyr Inn however; the quiet was comfortable and even welcome. The Khajiit hadn't realized how much he missed times like this back in Dune when it was just him and his mother. It felt familiar, safe. _Don't worry mama, I'll be home once I find Jyric. I promise._

* * *

_They never found his father's body. Darko heard some witnesses say he was torn apart by the sands and there was nothing left to be recovered. Some said the Khajiit simply vanished into the storm, buried underneath the desert or was blown clear of Nirn, right into the land of the gods. His mother was crying silently to herself, her golden eyes squinting against the tears as they ran down her spotted cheeks. He'd been too young to understand the concept of death so all he could do was cling gently to his mother's dress and look up at her with his big, blue eyes, trying to comprehend her sadness._

_She stayed home with her son the next day, her mood having gotten so low she was hardly able to get out of bed. Her son had brought her food in hopes of cheering her up but she couldn't eat, couldn't even gather the strength to bathe, leaving her honey fur matted and damp from crying. _

_This continued for a week or more and Darko was beginning to believe his mother would never be happy again. Then one day, a sandstorm blew in from the edge of the desert and pelted their lonely hut with stones. They couldn't leave until the storm ended so the young Khajiit played indoors with his toys. One of the figures was of a werelion, a lycanthropic Khajiit that had the head of a lion, the bone structure of a troll and the fangs of a sabrecat. The other was of a knight, a hero in shining armor. He didn't know why, but he always let the werelion win the fights. _

_It was around evening on that day and the storm had eased that his mother emerged from her room. Darko was sitting on the floor reading but he got up to hug her as soon as he saw her, burying his face in the rough fabric of her gown. She smiled down at her son, tears gleaming in the light of the lanterns the boy had set up around the living room. She brushed her hand through the short mohawk Darko had been growing out then kneeled so she could hold him close to her properly. _

"_Darko, your father is gone. You are man of family now. You must be strong, strong for Si-Hara" she held her son tighter; she could feel him sobbing against her shoulder. "Si-Hara loves you and Si-Hara will always protect you" she purred, smiling sadly. Si-Hara picked up her son's werelion figure which she knew was his favorite and let him hold it as she soothed, "But my boy must be brave as well. Like werelion Darko must be. The world is big, beautiful place but with sun there comes shadow and Darko must be ready"_

* * *

The weather was deceptively cold taking into account the clear sky, bright sunshine and moderate winds. If he'd only looked out the window without stepping foot outside, the Khajiit would've thought it the perfect conditions for frolicking in the winter wonderland. It was instead, a freezing day of training in the snow-covered courtyard with the Greybeards. The Dragonborn was amazed at first to learn that every shout was composed of not one word of power, but three. Shouts were more effective the more words he learned and there were many shouts, each with its own effect.

So far, Arngeir had taught him the second word after "fus" which was "ro" meaning "balance". Once the Khajiit had learned the final word, he would have complete understanding of the Unrelenting Force shout. However, the Greybeard soon moved on to explain another shout, one that wasn't nearly as fun to use and that's when the cat's enthusiasm ended.

"It is called the Whirlwind Sprint; with it you will have the ability to dash at an incredible speed. Be warned however, you will only travel a certain distance before the shout loses its effect and if you find you've shouted yourself into a trap, well..." Arngeir grumbled lightly.

"Then I'm dead. Got it" the Dragonborn huffed, his paws squished under his arm-pits to keep them from icing over. His teeth were chattering and his legs were bent and pointed inward. It wasn't the most dignified position for the Dovahkiin but he was so cold he didn't care. He looked on with jealousy at his housecarl who was taking it easy next to a fire-pit during his lessons. Occasionally when he'd been practicing the force and balance shouts, the Khajiit had aimed a few near the Nord as a prank but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

"Wuld, Nah, Kest" Arngeir whispered, the words of the shout in dragon language appeared, writing themselves on the frozen snow at his feet. The elder straightened up when he was satisfied, explaining, "Whirlwind, Fury, Tempest. Now memorize the words and I'll lend you my knowledge to tap into the shout's abilities" with that, a whirl of supernatural wind flew from his very being and entered the Dragonborn, imbuing him with the Greybeard's insights.

The Khajiit was then led to a large double gate that blocked the way to a small patch of land; it ended sharply at the edge of the mountain. He was given a hint to its purpose when Arngeir pushed a switch off to the side that swung the gate open for a few seconds before shutting itself with a clang. _Aw no way._

"I see you've figured out the puzzle. Simply use the shout to pass through the gate before it closes. Remember you don't have to use all three words. In this case, it might be better not to risk over-compensating" there was no need to describe what would happen if the Khajiit accidentally went too far, there was nowhere to go but down.

"But if I don't make it far enough, I could smash right into the gate. Or worse, get jammed between them as they close" the Dragonborn growled, _If I get killed by a door I'll never forgive myself. _ He shook his arms and legs to push the thought from his mind and warm his limbs; he would need full mobility to pull this off. Judging the distance, it would've been impossible to make it to the gate by running so there was no point, he would have to shout from the start.

He didn't see Arngeir hit the switch, his eyes were rapt on the gateway but he heard the click and the squeak of the hinges grinding open. "Wuld, Nah!" he shouted, yelping in surprise as he surged forth with unprecedented speed, passing the gate without a problem. Unfortunately, he needn't have used the second word as he was propelled right to the edge of the cliff before the effect stopped, pitching him dangerously forward as his foot paws tipped between solid ground and certain death. He was about to faint from the sight but was yanked back with so much force he didn't have the opportunity to be unconscious, sending him and his savior toppling backwards into the snow.

The Khajiit lay there panting with his tongue out like a dog, his paw on his heart in an attempt to slow its hastened beating. Lydia was lying next to him, breathing hard as well from the dash she'd had to make. Lucky for them, Arngeir had hit the switch again immediately after the Khajiit made it through, having predicted the Dragonborn's miscalculation. It allowed the housecarl to dart past the reopened doors and catch him in the nick of time.

"W-was it good for you?" the cat gasped out when he'd gotten enough air in his lungs to speak.

His housecarl rolled her eyes.

Chapter End.

**AN: Wow Darko, two sex jokes in one chapter? Amazing. **

**Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed my take on Arngeir. He's not that different, nicer maybe ...**

**Sticking close to the game story line, they're off to find the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller next with a small detour.**

**As always thanks for reading and reviewing! **


	7. Bears with Their Honeyed Words

**Chapter Seven: Bears with Their Honeyed Words**

_For a child like Darko who had never left his home in the Elsweyr desert, Jyric was a strange sight to behold. Dune didn't get many visitors, at least not in the outskirts where Si-Hara and Darko lived; the boy remembered passing a few Redguards once and that had been his only experience with humans. The Breton however, was no tourist, he'd moved into a hut right next to the Khajiits' with his pale mother. It was a coincidence that both their fathers were gone. It was natural that the boys became friends._

_Jyric was the first to strike up a conversation with the Khajiit when their mothers had gotten to talking. He was polite and well-spoken for one so young. He was weird looking though, short black hair, almond-shaped hazel eyes, and thin lips with a narrow nose, and his skin so pearly white. Darko couldn't help staring. "Hello, my name is Jyric. I'm from High Rock, what's your name?" he held out his hand expecting the cat to shake it but received a confused frown instead. "Quiet, huh? Do you read and write?" _

_The Khajiit nodded enthusiastically, he loved reading though his writing needed work. The Breton smiled at that and took out a roll of blank parchment from his pack along with a piece of charcoal. Using a book to keep the paper flat, he wrote a short sentence then flipped the page to show Darko, 'What is your name?' was written in neat, bold letters. _

_His eyes twinkling, the cat took the page and charcoal and scratched onto it in large, looping script, 'I name Darko'. He gave it to Jyric, his tail waving happily behind his back._

"_Darko. Hello Darko" the Breton added more words underneath the Khajiit's messy writing before handing the parchment over to the cat again. 'Can you speak?'_

_The Khajiit nodded again, "Darko talk. Jyric talk funny ... Darko not hear word. Must see" his speech was staggered though his voice was clear; he didn't have the typical Khajiit harshness to his tone yet. "What is paw... uhh... move?" he asked, pointing at the Breton's hands. _

_Jyric creased his brows as he deciphered the cat's speech, he'd read about the Khajiit race before he'd come to Elsweyr and he knew about their different conversational patterns but the books could only tell him so much. "Ooh you mean the handshake?" he concluded, practically smacking himself on the head for not hearing it sooner, "It's what people do as a greeting, like saying 'hello' with your hands. Here, give me your ... paw" Jyric extended his hand to the cat, waiting patiently for his new friend to figure it out. _

_Darko was hesitant but he could tell there was nothing malicious about the Breton boy, he was odd for sure but a good kind of odd. Nervously, the Khajiit reached out and placed his paw in the human's palm, it was warm even without any fur._

* * *

The Greybeards gave him his final test the evening after the lessons. The Dragonborn was to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller from Ustengrav, a Nordic tomb located northeast of the town of Morthal. There was no real time limit though Arngeir did prefer a return sooner rather than later. The Khajiit and the Nord set out when daylight hit the mountain, grabbing a few supplies the monks provided out of courtesy. It would take them a good day to descend the 7000 steps and three more to reach Morthal with a carriage, even more if not.

Fortunately, the gods seemed to be on their side for once, the sun was high and the winds low, the temperature keeping at a touch below zero. Trekking down the mountain proved to be less taxing on their muscles than going up although they did slip a lot more than they preferred. They dispatched a few Ice Wraiths on the path as well but the hike was uneventful otherwise.

Ivarstead came into view by dusk, the setting sun bringing with it a gorgeous fiery sky. Now that the Khajiit had become comfortable with the mountain, he allowed himself time to enjoy the scenery and take in the forests and flat-lands of Skyrim. By this view alone, he would never have guessed the land was as harsh as its people claimed it to be.

"My Thane, bandits" Lydia whispered, pulling the cat out of his reverie. She was crouching near the side of the cliff and as the Khajiit approached her on sneaky feet, he saw why. There were indeed bandits patrolling the area near the base of the mountain, nine or so garbed in stolen steel and leather armor. It appeared their hideout was nearby and they were skimming the area for guards or civilians to either rob or kill outright for trespassing.

With the use of his night-eyes, the Dragonborn was able to distinguish the leader from the rest of his cohorts. He was a tall Nord, not quite as muscular as someone like Farkas but he would prove a hard man to beat if he was able to use the war-hammer on his back effectively. Taking note of this, the Khajiit looked for archers, counting three, and they were spread apart which would pose a problem. _Why did I sell my bow? _"Lydia how's your sneaking?" he asked, keeping an eye on the leader as he thought up a plan.

"Not good" his housecarl answered, moving slightly to demonstrate how noisy her heavy armor was. It was loud enough that one of the archers began restlessly searching the area with his reptile eyes from the sound.

The cat wrinkled his nose in thought, "Okay, here's what we're gonna do: I'm going to stealth kill that lizard guy then take his bow and give it to you so you can take pot-shots at the rest of the bandits while I take them down one by one, stealthily. Got it?" He didn't give the Nord time to reply as he was already crawling towards the area above where the Argonian archer was investigating, readying his paws and his tail for a leap. When the bandit had unwittingly gotten into a vulnerable position, the Khajiit pounced, unsheathing his swords in mid-air then stabbing them downwards with enough momentum, they punctured the Argonian's body up to the hilt.

The Dragonborn landed soundlessly behind the corpse as it fell, catching it before it could thud onto the grass. _Now to take my swords ou- oooof... aw dragons piss. _He tugged again at the handles of his swords but they would not budge. There wasn't time to retrieve them so he removed the bandit's bow and quiver then snuck back to where Lydia was waiting, observing the scene from above.

"Where are your weapons?" the housecarl muttered, strapping the leather quiver to her shoulder and testing the bow. It was the same kind the Imperial archers used, bronze and thin with a nice grip. She notched an arrow and aimed for the archer furthest from his companions.

"They're stuck but its fine, I still have a dagger. I'll get my swords after we've defeated the lot" he slumped off towards a smaller outlaw, one who was armed with a single sword and armor that was in bad repair. His ears picked up the swoop of an arrow zipping through the air as he crept then a small thump, Lydia had hit her target. Their plan was going well. Waiting the few seconds it took the young bandit to turn his back, the Khajiit unsheathed his dagger and slid behind the man, grabbing the bandit's head with his free hand then slitting the exposed throat in a swift motion with the other. There was some blood splatter but he was sure no one heard. He laid the body down then raised himself so he could look for his next target.

Another arrow whizzed past and the cat heard a squeal as the last archer fell. There was more rustling in the grass than he'd hoped however, meaning some of the remaining bandits had seen their comrade killed and were probably on high alert. Cursing to himself, the Khajiit peaked up from behind a rock and saw that there were two bandits, both in steel armor, stalking the area, getting closer to the mountain-side where he was hiding. They had found the corpse with an arrow protruding from the dead man's eye and even their minimal reasoning told them the attacker had to be firing from higher ground. The Dragonborn was preparing to show himself but he didn't have to when one of the incoming bandits was shot down, leaving one easy kill to him.

Slipping through the greenery, the Dragonborn was able to make it within arm's-length of the panicking bandit and tackle him down to the ground, stabbing the man twice in the neck before he grew still. A swish and another tremble in the earth told him there'd been one more death. By his count, there were two enemies left, one being the bandit leader. He poked his head up, noticing the night had fully covered the sky in a veil of stars and hazy blackness.

The Khajiit was about to lift himself higher to get a better look around when he was nabbed by the scruff of his neck and shoved painfully against the ground onto his back where he could see the face of his aggressor. It was the bandit leader and he was steaming. "So you're the little nuisance's been killin' my men, eh?" he kicked the cat with his steel boot, causing the Dragonborn to writhe and yowl, "Not so tough now are ye? Where's your archer friend, eh? He run off?" the leader laughed when he saw his victim spit out a wad of blood.

Another bandit appeared, a Dunmer this time and he was glancing at the mountain in terror. "Hey boss, I think we should go. Everyone else is dead and the- Ah!" he couldn't conclude the thought as he was struck by an axe in the back and toppled to the ground, bleeding out. To the Khajiit's surprise, it wasn't his housecarl who had come to his aid but a blond Nord. The bandit leader was shocked to see him too though more out of fear than familiarity. The newcomer didn't even allow the outlaw a chance to speak before lopping the man's head clean off his shoulders. It was over.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Dragonborn pushed himself to a seated position, holding his stomach from the ache of the kick and groaning when he accidentally spotted the decapitated head on the soil by his feet. He heard footsteps and saw his rescuer's expression turn serious again as he steeled himself for more fighting.

Lydia had a similar reaction to the blond man, raising her shield and axe as she neared enough to see her Thane sitting injured next to a stranger. "Who are you?" she snarled, her battle stance proved she was not in the mood for a wrong answer. The man hesitated; he could tell she wasn't a bandit so that meant she had to be with the Khajiit or was an innocent bystander.

"Lydia relax, he's my friend now give me a potion, I think that bandit might've crushed something important" the Dragonborn wheezed. Remaining defensive, his housecarl handed him the pack where the cat fished out a healing potion and chugged the liquid down like it was water. "Ralof, you might wanna speak up before she dices you" the Khajiit chuckled, wiping his mouth with his arm-guard.

Ralof had lowered his weapon as soon as he heard the cat say his name, it was the confirmation he needed to know this was the very same Khajiit who he'd escaped Helgen with. "My apologies, Lydia was it? I am Ralof, I assisted our friend here from the jaws of a dragon and I thought for sure he'd be dead by now with those less-than-stellar combat skills of his" he bowed his head to the housecarl, a charming smile spreading across his thinly-bearded face. "It's good to see you, cat. Have you always been this ugly?"

The Dragonborn scowled good-humouredly, sitting straighter since the potion had done its job. "Pff, you're one to talk! Bulging muscles, chiseled chin, glittering blue eyes I mean how do you even walk through town without women fleeing from the sight of you" both Ralof and the Khajiit laughed after that, settling down when a wolf's howl pierced the night air.

"Come, let us head for Riverwood, there's a hearth, food and beds waiting. We have a lot of catching up to do, Khajiit"

* * *

Pulling the cat's swords from the Argonian's torso was a simple task for the strong Nords and following some looting of the bodies, the trio set off for the small town around midnight with the Dragonborn in front beside Ralof and Lydia trailing behind. For whatever reason, the Khajiit sensed his housecarl did not like the blond very much and it was unnerving to be caught in the middle of it even though Ralof seemed completely unaware of the woman's poor impression of him.

Dawn saw the travellers entering Riverwood weary but content to take the day off for rest. Not wanting to intrude on Ralof's sister and her husband who happened to own the lumber mill in town, they rented rooms at the Sleeping Giant Inn, sitting around a table to eat and talk before going to bed.

"Dragonborn, eh? I knew there was something ... exceptional about you" Ralof said, tearing a chunk out of the cooked beef with his teeth.

The Khajiit raised a white eyebrow at the Nord man, "I thought you said it was shocking to find me still alive" for himself, the cat had gotten grilled salmon which he took bites of occasionally while speaking.

"Hey, exceptional people die all the time" the Nord grinned when he saw the hints of a smile twitching at the Dragonborn's lips. "I'm sure your bodyguard here has something to do with your continued survival?" Ralof turned to Lydia, not flinching in the slightest when she glowered back.

_Woah, did this place just get colder? _The Dragonborn shuddered, darting his eyes between his two companions, one easy-going and the other simmering. "Oh yeah! She's saved my tail a bunch of times. And she's very polite too... Right Lydia?" he nudged her under the table, chortling awkwardly through his clenched fangs.

The housecarl stood up from her meal, taking the icy atmosphere with her, "Excuse me, my Thane; I'm going to my room. If you need anything, I'll be next door" she stomped up the stairs to the sleeping quarters, leaving the Khajiit with a concerned look on his face. It was a good thing they'd gotten separate rooms, he doubted he would live through the morning with his housecarl in such a bad mood.

"I think she's tired. It has been a long night" the cat guessed, yawning for effect. He finished the rest of his meal in a few gulps.

"Aye, it was. But I know when I'm not welcome" Ralof was already done eating and rose from his seat as well, "I will be gone before you wake up. If you ever need to find me, I will be in Windhelm" he patted his friend on the shoulder as he sauntered past, making his way to his room.

The Khajiit was saddened but he understood. He nodded as the Nord disappeared from sight and he was left alone at the table.

* * *

After selling the spoils of their fight with the bandits and getting a rock stuck in his belly from listening to the general goods trader complain about a stolen gold claw, the Khajiit had enough septims to purchase a horse which he was aiming to do once they arrived at the Whiterun stables. Riverwood was too small a village to contain any places worth exploring so he and his housecarl had left right at the break of dusk fully refreshed.

Ralof had kept his word and was nowhere to be seen when they exited the inn and the cat couldn't help feeling crestfallen about it on the road to Whiterun. The sky reflected the Dragonborn's sorry frame of mind by bringing grey clouds and rain to make their walk a soggy one. Large trees and boulders did little to shield them from the torrents and they were soon soaked through to the bone, the Khajiit having it worse off being covered in damp fur that clung to his skin. It was a miserable trip but they made it to the stable just as the weather began to clear, the sun showing its face for the first time that morning.

The Whiterun stable was run by a middle-aged and perpetually dirt-laden Nord by the name of Skulvar. He was amicable enough to the Khajiit even though the cat looked like someone had tried to drown him in a river. Skulvar had the purchased horse saddled in minutes, tilting his head respectfully as the adventurers trotted away to the north.

Not ten minutes into riding, it became apparent to the housecarl that her Thane had never ridden a horse before. Every couple paces the horse would veer sharply off the cobbled stone and gallop on the grass until the Khajiit managed to lead it back onto the paved road. Lydia wasn't too bothered by it, after all, the slower the Dragonborn rode the easier it was for her to catch up on foot. It wasn't until the cat accidentally drove the horse into a giant's camp did the Nord think to teach him how to ride. She showed him the simple manoeuvres to get the horse to stop, go faster and turn but he wasn't absorbing any of it. In the end, she rode up front with the Khajiit wrapping his arms around her waist from the rear. They rode at a moderate gallop; the horse wasn't used to two riders so they didn't want to exhaust it by urging it to go faster.

According to the map, they had made it as far as the Weynon Stones when it came time to set up camp. The area was white from snow and true to its name there was a circular arrangement of stones surrounding a large shrine in the center. On the shrine were offerings from flowers to silver for the hero-god Talos. The Khajiit didn't know anything about Talos except that his worship was forbidden for some reason so he didn't leave anything on the altar, finding he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to bother.

He waited until after they had the fire going and the horse securely tethered to ask his housecarl about her cold attitude towards Ralof, it had been nagging at him since Riverwood and he couldn't keep pretending like it was fine. "...I mean you just met him! You'd think him saving me twice would be enough to convince you that he's a decent person" the Khajiit growled, poking a freshly killed rabbit into the flames.

Lydia had been anticipating the interrogation with mild dread, not that her Thane wasn't justified because he was, she just didn't feel like explaining herself right there and then. Sighing, she answered while skinning the rabbit she'd caught, taking her annoyance out on the dead flesh, "My Thane, that man was a Stormcloak. Didn't you notice what he was wearing? The chainmail, the leather armor, the blue sash... you don't know what a Stormcloak is do you?" _Why am I not surprised?_

The Khajiit flushed, he didn't think his confusion was that palpable though he should have guessed his housecarl would spot it immediately, she always did. "Erm... he mentioned it once or twice. I think he might've asked me to join... is it like a guild or club..." he coughed as some smoke was blown in his direction; he fanned it away with his paw and removed his dinner from the heat.

"The Stormcloaks are a rebel group organized under a man named Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm. He murdered the High King in cold blood before starting his rebellion against the Imperial Legion and the Empire" the wet sound of skin sliding off the rabbit carcass filled the pause as Lydia stabbed the meat with a stick and lifted it over the fire pit. "But all he's really managed to do is burden Skyrim with a civil war and at a time like this... with the dragons returning it was enough to drive Jarl Balgruuf mad" the housecarl huffed, in Dragonsreach, if the Jarl was in distress, so was everyone else.

"So if Ralof asks again I should say no?" asked the cat, chewing absently on the charred rabbit leg.

The Nord shrugged, "You can answer however you wish. I just thought you should know who you keep company with" Her Thane considered her words, weighing the facts in his head as he ate. It was strange Lydia had never met a Khajiit whose facial expressions were as dramatic as the one in front of her. She didn't know if it was an entirely positive trait either.

"You know what? I like Ralof. He's a good man. I don't care if he is a Stormcloak, he's my friend and I trust him" he meowed wholeheartedly, "And I think after we're done with all this Greybeard business, we should visit him in Windhelm"

His housecarl kept a poker face, "What about your other friend, the one who sent you that letter? I thought we were searching for him"

"Yeah but we don't have any leads on his location, at least if we go to Windhelm we'll for sure find Ralof plus there's a chance Jyric will be there too" the cat stuttered when he said his long-lost friend's name, like he'd forgotten how the word sounded coming from his lips and how much he missed saying it.

A silence came over them as it always did whenever the Khajiit's past was mentioned. Reminiscing was a very bittersweet experience for the cat Lydia realized and though he hadn't told her anything about his life before coming to Skyrim, she could tell this Jyric person was the cause of it. "Fine. It's not like I have much say in the decision. We'll go to Windhelm" the housecarl nearly smiled when she saw how quickly her Thane snapped back to his usual cheery self but she couldn't let him off the hook without adding, "If we survive the tombs that is"

"Wow, aren't you just a ray of sunshine" the Dragonborn frowned, folding his ears back in mock rage.

"Better to be realistic than overly hopeful, besides, you could stand to have a little less faith in people, it would've prevented you from being so easily seduced by Ralof" the housecarl countered.

"In my defense... he is very handsome" The Khajiit snickered when Lydia nodded in agreement.

Chapter End.

**AN: A pretty light-hearted chapter to counter-act some of the previous ones.**

**I figured Lydia would share Balgruuf's opinion of the Stormcloaks out of loyalty rather than personal preference. That's essentially why her description of them is so narrow, she doesn't know any better.**


	8. Fire, Fade, Frostbite

**Chapter Eight: Fire, Fade, Frostbite**

Algernon was the name the Khajiit chose for his horse when the companions got to talking on the snowy trail. There was a light dusting of flakes falling from the mighty evergreens that hugged the path but the sky itself was a clear grey that afternoon. They were moving on foot, the area was too cluttered with low-hanging trees and rocky hills to ride safely so the cat took this opportunity to bond with the equine as he led it along.

"... So you see that's why I think salmon is the best fish. It's meaty and it cooks in its own oils so it's always tender and juicy. It's a perfect food. I know you probably only eat grass and hay but I'm just saying if you were to try meat, eat salmon" the cat said, concluding his discussion of the merits of salmon versus tuna. The black horse had flapped its gums a few times during the speech but there was little indication it could understand him.

Having enough, Lydia decided to step in, "My Thane, not that this isn't a riveting lecture but why are you talking to the horse like it can comprehend what you're saying?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The horse whinnied.

"He's not 'the horse', he has a name now. And as for why, it's because I've always had a close connection with animals. I think of them as friends" the Khajiit stopped to pet Algernon's muzzle lovingly, "And friends deserve to be spoken to like, well, people" A sudden strong wind blew a mound of snow off the tree branches and coated the three travelers in its cold whiteness; the Dragonborn spat out a few snowflakes before shaking himself like a wet dog to get most of it off his fur and armor, the horse following suit.

Lydia had to brush the snow off the human way, with her arms, saying, "That makes sense, considering you're half animal yourself" she shivered as some snow bunched beneath her steel armor, seeping into her underclothes. She felt a rumble in the ground assuming there had been an avalanche somewhere nearby.

"You would know, you're friends with a werewolf after all" her Thane replied matter-of-factly, sticking a gloved finger in his ear to nudge out the snow that had fallen inside. He was too busy trying to get the melted ice out that he didn't notice the flash of shock on his housecarl's face.

"What?" she gaped, not even minding that more snow had tumbled down her back.

"It's okay Aela's safe, I won't tell anyone. Sure she hates me but I've sort of accepted that most women in Skyrim do" the Khajiit was still obliviously freeing his body from the snowfall when he finally turned to face the Nord. He immediately halted what he was doing to stare back, "What?"

Then they heard it, the flap of giant wings, the low screech, the sharp singing as its ice breath crawled through the air on frosty tendrils. A dragon. Algernon bucked in fright but he was prevented from fleeing outright by the housecarl's iron grip on his reins. Tying the horse to a large pine, the Nord and the Khajiit readied themselves for the fight, the cat taking out his swords and the housecarl using the Imperial bow. What had been an environmental disadvantage had become a superior battlefield, the dragon could not land with all the trees in the way and the hills provided plenty of cover from its frost attacks.

The Nord was the first to engage the dragon, firing a shot that tore at its leathery wings. She released three more but only the last managed to damage the dragon, soaring into the space between its shield-like scales. It cried then, circling the area to get a better position before volleying a vortex of ice at the duo. They managed to dodge in time though the blast waves sent them sliding backwards a foot or two. The Khajiit struck next, his feline reflexes and flexibility taking him to the top of an icy boulder from where he jumped at the hovering beast, getting in a quick double slash then landing his feet safely on the snowy banks opposite of his starting point.

Their actions enraged the ancient reptile; it strafed the forest, sending torrents of ice through the gaps in the trees and hills. A finger of frost managed to slice a chunk out of the Khajiit's thigh, freezing the fur around the wound. He howled from the biting pain and he could feel the chill seeping into his blood stream making him shake. The cat kneeled, unable to lift his leg. Satisfied, the dragon twisted its lengthy body around to strike the area again but it was forced to pull upwards when an arrow was thrust into its left eyelid, missing the glowing orange orb by a mere inch. In the time it took the dragon to make another pass, the housecarl had carried the Khajiit out of harm's way and splashed a healing potion onto his cut.

Ducking beneath a branch, the Nord continued pelting the dragon with arrows, her eyes flitting from the soaring lizard to her Thane who was lifting himself upright to join the battle again. His leg was numb and constantly hitching up but he stubbornly remained standing, using one of his swords as a crutch when the weight was too much.

"Fus, Ro!" the Dragonborn shouted when the reptile was within range. The Thu'um sent the dragon careening towards the hillside where its powerful body smashed against the jagged cliffs. It struggled to take flight but there was a spire of rock pinning its right wing down. The dragon spat a stream of ice at the travelers below in a tantrum, flinging its other wing around to loosen the stones. There was a snap and the beast rolled to the ground, toppling trees and crushing rock as it landed; its wing was broken.

On its last legs, the dragon flung its spiked head forward, chomping at the Khajiit but not fast enough to catch the cat in its jaws. Abandoning her bow, Lydia charged the beast with shield and axe, bashing its nose and jamming the blade into the dragon's forehead. It screeched more horrifically than before then slithered back, preparing for a frost breath. Predicting the attack, the Dragonborn shouted, "Fus" disorienting the lizard long enough for the Nord to leap onto the beast's neck then slam her axe as hard as she could into the studded flesh, cutting down to the bone before the dragon's death throes shook her off its body.

A shattering sound echoed through the cliffs as the dragon's soul flowed into the Khajiit and its skin disintegrated, leaving nothing but a skeleton and a few arrows in its wake. Algernon neighed, happily as far as the cat could tell.

* * *

The map indicated they'd reached Ustengrav that night which puzzled the Khajiit to no end. "That's weird. We're already here? I'm not complaining really, just wondering" he had been leaning against the Nord for support but he moved his arm from around her muscular shoulders to spread the map out better, flinching a little when he had to balance on his good leg alone.

"We must have walked right past Morthal, do you want to head back?" Lydia asked, letting the horse wander off to find food. She didn't say it but she wanted to find the city so her Thane could get proper treatment for his injury, however the final word was his so she held back, her hand playing with the single braid in her hair as she waited.

The Dragonborn exhaled loudly, flipping the map this way and that to find his bearings. If he did decide to find the city before tackling the tombs, it would take an extra day and would require more walking through uneven land on a damaged leg. On the other hand the city meant food, supplies and a comfy bed rather than a bedroll to sleep in. He considered a little longer before settling with a final puff, "Let's get this tomb over with, since we're here and Algernon just fell asleep" It was true, the horse was standing near one of the four pillars surrounding the area above the tomb, his head down in a state of slumber. Lydia nodded, not letting a hint of worry escape through her calm exterior.

They took the stairs down to the iron doors slowly so the Khajiit wouldn't stumble. The whole thing reminded him of the walk back to Whiterun from Bleak Falls Barrow, when the roles were reversed and he was the one helping his housecarl. So much had happened since then, it had been little more than a week or two ago but it felt like a distant memory. And his past with Jyric, that was like an entirely different lifetime.

* * *

As soon as they entered Ustengrav, they were bombarded by the sound of swords swinging and magic being cast. Hunkering down behind a stone archway, the Nord peaked out at the rest of the cavernous room. Near the door furthest from where the companions were hiding, there were two bandits and three mages engaged in a heated conflict and it looked like the spell-casters were winning. The housecarl waited, not feeling a shred of pity when the bandits were roasted to a pile of ash by a mage's lightning spell. Fortunately, the outlaws had managed to take one of the mages to the grave with them, leaving two for the Nord and her Thane to deal with.

Without a second's hesitation, Lydia surged forth, taking the mages by surprise. She hammered one of the magi into the ground with her axe, brows furrowing in confusion when the blade was met with a green, circular barrier – a Ward spell – before the sharp edge could be buried into the dark elf's skull. "Behind you!" she heard her Thane yell. The housecarl swung her axe as she spun to face the second mage, separating the Argonian's arm from her body. Screaming, the lizard raised its remaining arm and sent a bolt of lightning coursing through the Nord's system.

The shocking lasted a few seconds until the Argonian was interrupted by a sword through the face, a present from the Dragonborn. When the Dunmer saw this, he ran, tossing a few streams of fire behind his back as he went. He made it to the entrance but was burned to death on the spot by the Khajiit's own flame spell, the elf's blackened corpse matching the darkness of the door as it fell against it.

"Lydia are you okay?" the cat gasped, limping over to where his housecarl was crouched on all fours, catching her breath.

"Yes... I'm just a little dizzy" she muttered, putting on her best fake smile. In reality her body was aching and her heart was beating much faster than normal but she didn't want her Thane to be discouraged. She stood up, brushing away the Khajiit's paw when he offered it. The cave walls spun; its cracks and edges becoming labyrinths of stone. Her limbs felt like they were made of liquid and even though her veins were boiling, every breath she took was cold. She blacked-out.

* * *

_Irileth was looking at her, a smug sneer on her dark face, sending a slight chill down the Nord's spine. Jarl Balgruuf hadn't been paying attention though, he was too preoccupied with his court wizard's ranting. The two men appeared to be debating something but Lydia couldn't understand what the fuss was about so she stood patiently in front of the throne, avoiding eye contact with the Dunmer. _

"_Do not fret Farengar, the Khajiit will agree to find the Dragonstone, I am sure of it. Now, I must speak with Lydia" the Jarl grunted, dismissing the young mage with a wave of his hand. He turned to face the Nord housecarl, smiling slightly when she straightened up at his glance. _

"_Jarl Balgruuf, you asked for me?" Lydia said, gazing unwaveringly into the Jarl's eyes. The man nodded, sitting forward in his chair to get a better look at her. _

"_Yes, I am assigning you to our newest Thane. A Khajiit" Balgruuf had to stop himself from laughing when he saw the woman's expression go from stoic to surprised then back to stoic, so quick it was like the beat of a hummingbird's wing. Being Jarl, he'd seen and read enough people to be able to catch such a minute movement but it never ceased to amuse him. "You might have passed him on the way here. He's quite difficult to miss"_

_Lydia groaned inwardly, she had indeed passed the Khajiit on the stairway to Dragonsreach though he'd been little more than a fuzzy blur then. _

"_I realize this is the first Thane you'll be serving. What I want to know is: are you up to the task?" the Jarl was looking directly back at her now and Lydia was sure he'd be able to spot even the slightest bit of doubt should she have any. _

"_Definitely, my Jarl" she replied with more confidence than she was actually feeling. _

"_Good!" Balgruuf rumbled, clapping his hands together in enthusiasm, "I will have Farengar brief you on the mission in the morning, in the mean time you will want to get some rest. That Khajiit can be a handful as Irileth would know" The dark elf growled at that, apparently recalling some unwanted memories. _

_Bowing, Lydia turned to leave, her head buzzing with excitement and nervousness. _

_Before she could reach the doors however, Jarl Balgruuf shouted some advice to her from his seat, his booming voice having no trouble carrying across the hold to reach her ears, "He is Dragonborn so you might want to be careful around him. He can be... delicate"_

* * *

She opened her eyes to see a vast expanse of rock far above her, the same type of surface rock as the cavern after the entrance to Ustengrav but much more grand in size and color. Instead of beige, the naturally formed walls went from a light brown to a deep green near where a waterfall had erupted from the cave side. Lydia couldn't see the waterfall from her angle on the dirt floor but she could hear the splashing and torrential flow of the water as if she was right next to it.

Slowly, the Nord began twitching her fingers then her limbs. The strange sensations she'd been experiencing were gone, replaced by heaviness; the kind that came from working too hard or being run over by a carriage. She lifted her head next, peering down her straight nose at her torso and arms. There was no visible damage; her armor was scratched but not in bad shape. _How did I get here?_ Her eyes widened, "My Thane?" she called, bolting upright. Lydia reached for her axe and shield except they weren't on her belt where they should be. Her leather pack was missing as well.

"Lydia! Oh thank the gods" the housecarl didn't have time to react before she was pulled into a bear hug by the Khajiit, her steel armor clashing uncomfortably against her Thane's newly acquired fur armor. The Nord would protest but she could feel hot tears dripping down her neck so she sighed and relaxed into the embrace, letting the cat hold her a moment longer. When he finally released her, he had his crying under control. "Next time, I recommend **not** running straight at the mages" he beamed, mimicking his housecarl's tone in good humor.

The woman let out a breath in relief from the hug and from the knowledge that the Khajiit was safe and as mildly obnoxious as ever. "My Thane, what happened? Where are my weapons and the bag" she asked, her speech was slurred slightly, a leftover effect of the spell.

"Ah about that, well when you fainted I didn't want to leave you out in the entranceway so I brought you here after clearing the area. Problem was you're kinda heavy... I removed as much weight as I could: your weapons and the pack. All that stuff should still be out there" the cat winced when he saw the disbelief written on his housecarl's pale face, he didn't even want to mention how he'd had to drag her half of the way because his leg was killing him. "You know you might want to try light armor it's not as hefty..."

The Khajiit didn't get to finish as his housecarl stormed off to retrieve her belongings, the heart-warming moment they'd just shared was completely forgotten. At least the cat had been right, the axe and the shield were lying against the wall beside where the bag was resting, untouched. Lydia stepped around the dead bodies to get to the items, wrapping her shield around her arm and fastening the axe to her belt, tossing the bag over her shoulder once she was armed.

She didn't say anything to the Dragonborn as she returned to the large underground cavern, nor when they made their way down a long flight of make-shift stairs. There were too many things for her to mull over, the fact that Aela was a werewolf being one she only then remembered and the cat's questionable behavior being another. Yet, more than anything, she couldn't believe she'd allowed herself to be knocked unconscious. From the state of the lifeless Draugr and Skeleton littered cave bed, she had been out for at least an hour or two.

They came upon a row of weird-looking stones, two on the left and one on the right, that lead to a doorway blocked off by three gates. It didn't take a genius to know that this was a puzzle. Walking to the stone furthest from the door, Lydia raised her hand and waved it across the stone's face where swirling symbols had been carved. Nothing happened. She scowled then motioned for her Thane to come over and repeat what she did. Meekly, the Dragonborn obeyed, dropping his paw once in front of the stone. Immediately, it began to glow a bright red and they saw that the first gate had clanged open as a result. The gate remained open so long as the cat was standing in front of the stone, closing haltingly when he moved out of the way.

After testing the two other stones, both of which reacted the same way and activated the second and third gates, it was apparent the Khajiit would have to sprint past all three stones then rush through the gates before they had a chance to shut down. It was almost identical to the task Arngeir had asked him to perform for the Whirlwind Sprint. "You might want to stand back" the cat mumbled to his housecarl, fully aware that she wasn't in the state of mind to be ordered around. She did what he commanded though, going off to the side and letting him handle the puzzle without a fuss.

Starting from a lowered stance by the first stone, the Dragonborn could feel his tail fur fluffing up so he tucked it into his belt where it wouldn't impede his running. Taking a big gulp of air, the Khajiit pumped his arms and legs and zoomed past the three stones, shouting "Wuld, Nah, Kest!" the moment the third gate rumbled open. The whirlwind sped him through the gates so fast he couldn't open his eyes; the wind resistance was too strong. Only when he'd come to a full stop and wasn't squashed by a gate did he chance a peek. All three of the metal doors were lifted leaving behind a short hallway where the Nord was currently waiting for the cat to move further into the tombs.

"My Thane, your leg is bleeding" Lydia said nonchalantly.

* * *

Her Thane had to lean against her for the rest of the journey through Ustengrav, making it a tedious trek. She considered dropping him near the puzzle gates and finding the horn on her own but she couldn't leave him again, even if she was doing all the work this time. Anyway, the Greybeards' quest was given to the Dragonborn, not a lowly housecarl who couldn't even stay awake to do her job.

The depths of Ustengrav were similar in design to Bleak Falls Barrow: long hallways full of little passages. The low ceiling and claustrophobic rooms made the place easy to explore but time-consuming as the Dragonborn insisted on searching every corner for treasure chests, spell books and especially healing potions. Since Lydia had absolutely zero experience with picking locks, she often had to half-carry the Khajiit over to the chests so he could unlock them, not questioning how the cat learned to do such an unsavory activity to begin with.

"Hah! Look what I found, a Healing Spell tome!" her Thane was holding up a golden book with what looked like a bird with its wings spread drawn on the cover, he started flipping through it but decided against reading it there and then and tossed it into Lydia's pack haphazardly. Frowning, the housecarl bent down so the Khajiit could put his arm around her shoulders again.

A bit more wandering later and they had gathered quite the collection of potions and books and had seen more coffins than they could count, though the most interesting sight had to be the word wall. Even though the housecarl had stepped right up to the glowing word, she couldn't hear the chanting that was so clear to the Khajiit. "Feim, Feim, Fade, Fade. You really can't hear it?" the Dragonborn scratched his head, ears lowering when the Nord glared defiantly at him. He learned the word with hesitation, feeling like he was showing off somehow. To be fair, it seemed the entire tomb was made especially for the Greybeard's test; no ordinary mortal could have activated the stones and hardly any would know what to do with a word wall. He should have expected as much though, Jurgen Windcaller was of dragon blood and the founder of the Greybeard order. "Hey is there something wrong? You seem sad, are you still hurt?"

Lydia shook her head, "I am fine. Weary perhaps though I've rested enough" she faltered, refusing to meet the Khajiit's sapphire stare. The Nord left the wall, moving for the next room with her Thane stumbling a horse-length behind. She was about to step foot into the archway leading to a circular chamber that was connected to another even grander room but the Khajiit had grabbed hold of her shoulder.

"Don't put your foot down, that's a pressure trap" he growled, pulling back on her armor so she wouldn't lose balance by accident. With her heavy steel boot out of harm's way, the Nord could see that the tiles in the round room were different from the rest of the catacombs. They were square with a diamond shape in the middle and some were dark grey while others were lighter in shade. She also noticed that the room was covered wall-to-wall in spider webs.

_How did I miss that? _"How do you suggest we cross the room?" she asked, her eyes searching for a safe path around the trapped tiles. She noticed there was a switch near the web-covered door at the opposite corner of the second room and assumed it was there to turn off the traps. She pointed it out to her Thane.

"Looks like you just answered your own question. Okay, I will hit the switch" the cat meowed excitedly pushing up his sleeves. He wobbled on his wounded leg and had to hold onto the wall to steady himself.

"You can hardly walk"

"I'll just stick close to the ... webs! Besides, I want to try out the new word" his lips were lifted in a crooked grin and the housecarl knew nothing she said was going to deter him from his objective so she stayed quiet. "Feim!" he shouted with gusto, welcoming the shout's effects. The Dragonborn turned blue, not a cold blue or a sad blue but a literal, watery blue. He had also become transparent like the illustrations of ghosts in children's books though he didn't faze through the floor nor could he walk through walls which he found out the instant he tried. He gave Lydia a thumbs up upon recovering from his collision then hugged the webs as closely as he could without becoming entangled and limped sideways.

The shout worked, the traps were being set off by his weight but the pillars of flame that shot from the tiles did not harm the Khajiit. The fire licked through his ethereal form instead, waning as he shifted his weight to another spot before dying out. "This is amazing!" he yelled, sliding uneasily onto a big patch of ground that was free from the flaming floor. His foot touched down in time for the shout to wear off and leave him unscathed. "Ta-Da- Ow!" he bent forward to see the cut had reopened and blood was trickling steadily from it.

"Move!" Lydia hissed.

"I can't, I need to heal –" there was a scratchy sound coming from above the cat's twitching ears followed by the clacking of mandibles being rubbed together. "Agh, not this again"

Chapter End.

**AN: On an unrelated note, if you're wondering why no one actually calls the Dragonborn by his name (minus flashbacks), even after learning it... I have no idea. It just doesn't feel right at this point in the story. **


	9. Women

**Chapter Nine: Women**

Honestly, the Khajiit had not expected the shout to work, he thought for sure the creature's abdomen would crush him no matter how blue or see-through he became. That was not the case, the shout worked flawlessly at saving him from horrendous bodily injury. However, he thought perhaps that would've been better than the mental scarring he was receiving from within the belly of the beast. _Ugh is that a digesting Skeever head? _He covered his nose to hold the stench at bay. For whatever reason, the cat had not been able to unsheathe the swords at his waist, his ghostly paws slipping right through the hilts when he tried. _Of course, I can go through a spider, why not my weapons?_

All of a sudden, the Dragonborn was brought back to the booby-trapped room without having to move an inch. The spider had apparently leaped into the air to land on the webs and was climbing across the room using its nest as a means to bypass the flaming floor. It was skittering straight for the housecarl who was too caught up in shooting arrows at the monster to notice that her Thane was completely unharmed. With the spider and the Nord locked in combat, the Khajiit took his chance to pull the switch which, coincidentally, he was able to touch. _Yea... I don't understand this shout... _He was back to being solid soon after, drawing his weapons when he saw the creature was overwhelming the Nord with its sheer size.

"Oi! Get over here, its safe!" the cat roared, wincing as the spider managed to land a blow on the housecarl while she was distracted by his yelling. He watched her duck another swipe and smack the beast in its eyes with the edge of her shield, buying her enough time to rush over to the Khajiit's platform before the spider could chase after her, blinded slightly. The moment the Nord made it to his side, the cat had leaned down on the switch, activating the tiles once more.

They were treated to the sight of a Giant Frostbite Spider being barbequed to a charred pulp, its screaming and the smell of its thick skin melting did not deter their relief in the slightest. The beast made a valiant effort to continue scuttling towards them but it didn't make it halfway before its limbs gave out under it and it died, the poison in its body having sped up the deterioration of its mighty carcass. When it was finished, the Khajiit hit the switch a final time, killing the flames.

Sheathing his swords with the satisfaction of not needing to use them to defeat the enemy, the cat held out his paw to the Nord for a high-five. She ignored it, deciding to slice savagely at the webs blocking their way instead. A wooden door lay beneath the many layers of silk and Lydia forced it open, entering the new area without bothering to hold the door open for her Thane. Even though his leg was still hurting, the Khajiit didn't think it was a good moment to ask for his housecarl's assistance so he bore it, grinding his teeth with every step.

It wasn't a particularly glamorous room, the place was dark, lit exclusively by dying torches and the ground was flooded in water except for a straight stone path that led from the wooden door to a short pedestal at the end of the room. There was another door which had to be the exit behind four statues rising out of the water, two on each side of the pedestal. They appeared to be carvings of snakes, their jaws gaping open and eyes enormously round.

Glancing around to be sure there were no traps or anymore foes, Lydia crossed to the stand, the cat following behind her. Before the Nord could pick up the item sitting on the plinth, she felt the Khajiit's paw on her shoulder for the second time that day. She spun around, her face almost slamming into her Thane's he was standing so close. "Enough alright? I can tell you're upset, what is it? What did I do now?" the Dragonborn spat, his ears were drawn back and his pupils shrunk to slits, his lips rose to bare his fangs. In the many days they'd travelled together, Lydia had never seen him this enraged.

The Nord held her ground, staring brazenly into her Thane's eyes as she replied, "It is nothing, my Thane, I am fatigued as I have told you already" her voice was level but her eyes, hazel in the dark, were filled with something, an emotion the Khajiit could not decipher.

This only made him angrier, his fur bristling on end in pent up aggression, "As your Thane, I order you to tell me. What is your problem?" he'd preferred to get a response without playing the 'Thane' card but the housecarl's stubbornness had made that impossible.

For a second, the Khajiit thought the Nord was going to hit him or disobey his command. She didn't though, like any well-trained housecarl, she answered but without any real feeling behind her words, "I must apologize, I know my recent behavior has been unacceptable. My mind has been fogged with doubts and it has hindered my ability to protect you and for that I am sorry" Lydia bowed as the Khajiit looked on in shock, all the rage snuffed out of him by her oddly gentle words.

"W-what?" the Dragonborn was too flustered to say much else, _Where's the yelling? The name-calling... the sarcasm? _

Assuming the conversation was over, Lydia turned to the pedestal again and picked up the piece of paper that was lying on the flat stone surface. Her eyes skimmed the page before she handed it to her Thane, sighing when he fumbled the paper and almost dropped it into the water.

Dragonborn,

I need to speak to you. Urgently.

Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you.

A friend

"Wait this can't be it! Where in Sithis is the horn?" Not having fully grasped the situation, the Khajiit began sniffing and poking around the room, even dunking his head in the water in case the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller had somehow been knocked off its perch. He found nothing.

"I believe your friend has it. Do you recognize the handwriting?" Lydia asked, hardly reacting when her Thane shook his head frantically to dry his fur.

"Okay first of all, stop talking with that fake politeness, it's freaking me out. Second, no I don't know that handwriting. I know for sure it's not ... Jyric's..." he stopped short, swallowing loudly. His mouth went dry every time he said his friend's name and he couldn't help feeling gloomy even though there were more important things to be worried about, like Lydia's change in attitude for instance. Why she was suddenly acting this way, the Khajiit had no clue but he figured he might have broken her, somehow.

"Then perhaps we should head to Riverwood. We aren't going to get anymore answers here"

_Gods what have I done?_

* * *

Algernon was still standing at the pillar, nibbling on some grass he'd dug out from beneath the frost. He raised his long neck at the crunch of stone underfoot and he knew the two riders had returned. The Khajiit went up to him, hugging the horse briefly before jumping into the saddle with some help from the Nord. The housecarl reached for the reins but the Khajiit beat her to it, "I'm steering" he said, pointing his thumb towards the back, signalling the Nord to hop on behind him. She didn't say a word, merely nodded and did as she was told.

A simmer of heat rushed to the Dragonborn's face when he felt Lydia put her arms around his waist during the ride, embarrassing him enough to pull a little too hard on the reins that Algernon began speeding towards the right. "Sorry boy" he drove the horse to the path again, hoping that the Nord couldn't sense his nervousness. The ride was rough with the Khajiit at the helm; he was jittery and took wide turns which were fine in the open fields but unfortunate in the forests where they could get side-swiped by branches and tall bushes.

The sight of Riverwood in the distance with its smoky chimneys and the soothing music of the White River it was built on could not have been a bigger consolation. They dismounted near the village entrance, the town having no stable of its own. The Khajiit secured the horse to a post near a patch of grass in case he was hungry and made sure the rein was let out enough that Algernon could reach the river for a drink should he need to.

It was a little past supper and they were starving so it was lucky their destination was the Sleeping Giant Inn where they could grab a quick bite before confronting this 'friend'. They bought their meal from the inn's cook, a seemingly eyebrow-less Nord with a kind air about him. Settling down at a table large enough for six, they ate and drank heartily, appreciating the warmth of the central fire-pit and the bard's melodic performance.

The Dragonborn soon found himself darting glances at the patrons after wolfing down his food, noticing a tall Nord keeping to himself at the table across from theirs, a group of soldiers whose uniform he didn't recognize but looked familiar and the owner of the inn, a thin Breton with her light hair tied in a low ponytail. "I'm guessing it's that man sitting alone, taking the horn from the tombs would be no issue for a guy like that" he said this in a hushed voice so only Lydia could hear. He kept his back turned in case the suspect knew who the Dragonborn was though all he'd need to know was that the hero was a Khajiit and they'd be found out, a tail was a hard thing to hide not to mention furry ears.

Lydia shifted her gaze quickly to see for herself. The man did look threatening, his statuesque figure and chestnut hair along with his silver-blue eyes made him the textbook definition of a Nord champion and yet she wasn't getting the feeling that he had taken any special interest in them. Also, how could a man that large sneak his way into Ustengrav, get past the puzzle stones and steal the horn. No, the person they were looking for had to be clever and know their way around the tombs, bypassing the puzzle entirely. Or, their 'friend' was also gifted in the use of the Voice but that was highly unlikely. She lost her train of thought when she saw the man was winking at her.

"Hey focus! No flirting with the enemy" the Khajiit frowned, waving his paw in front of his housecarl's face. Her eyes had changed color again; they'd returned to their usual saturated green, he guessed because of the lighting.

"Right. I don't think that is the person we are looking for" Lydia muttered, she was having difficulty keeping her composure between the attractive Nord's misty leer and her Thane's annoyed ocean-blue gawk.

Drumming his fingers impatiently on the newly glazed table, the Khajiit held up his other paw to call the inn keeper over. The Breton responded immediately, coming right up next to the cat, with a gentle expression on her angular face. "Hello, we would like to rent the attic room for the evening" the Dragonborn said, taken aback by the gleam that appeared in the older woman's violet eyes.

"Of course, follow me" she replied, her voice was gruff and had a certain authority to it. Not unlike Irileth's though admittedly not nearly as scary. She told the cook to hold down the fort while she led the Khajiit and his companion to a room directly right of the main desk, asking the housecarl to close the door behind them which she did. They were in a regular room, furnished with a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe and a desk pushed off beside the door. The Breton saw the confusion in the travellers' demeanor but she didn't speak until she'd opened the wardrobe door where a staircase leading down was hidden. "It is safe, I will give you the horn once we're below the inn" she assured. _Ah, so she's our 'friend'. Didn't see that coming._

They descended warily, prepared to fight if an ambush was waiting for them in the room at the other end of the stairway. Fortunately the cellar was free of assailants, made obvious from its sparse furnishings: creaky shelves lined the crude brick walls, a glowing table sat on their immediate right, weapons hung on racks above that and a large desk at the center of the small room where a map was laid out on the woodwork, there was nowhere to hide.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience I've caused you by taking the horn but I needed to get your attention somehow. Here" the Breton took a generic-looking ram's horn from one of the shelves and handed it to the housecarl, "Now that you have what you came for, I am hoping you will hear me out, Dragonborn"

_Really? This woman too, what am I seared Slaughterfish?_ "Actually **I'm** the Dragonborn, she's my housecarl, bodyguard...pack-mule" apparently Lydia hadn't gotten her sense of humor back because she took the comments like a stone wall takes a charging goat. "You can call me Darko"

The Breton cocked a thin eyebrow at that, displeasure crossing her features, "I am Delphine and I have a challenge for you, Dragonborn, if that is indeed who you are" the polite innkeeper was gone, replaced by a stern warrior intent on accomplishing her goals, "There is a dragon buried near Kynesgrove, a settlement south of Windhelm. I know for a fact that it will rise any day now and I want to see you slay it"

Clearly the Khajiit was missing something but he could tell Delphine had gone to great lengths to make sure they met; obliging her seemed only fair even if she had 'borrowed' the horn. "Take us to this dragon but when we've killed it, I'm gonna want some answers" the Dragonborn growled, a sly smile splitting his dark muzzle.

* * *

Delphine had told them to wait by the lumber mill the following morning while she suited up and made sure the Sleeping Giant was in good order. The trip to Kynesgrove would take a good three days and she didn't want to come back to a mess. When the stores had opened, the Khajiit and his housecarl had went on a shopping spree, purchasing essentials like food and rolls of gauze, and not-so essentials like mead and two gold hoops to replace the silver ones the cat wore in his ear. There was definitely something about the sunny yellow of the gold that brought out the midnight blackness of the Dragonborn's fur and as he stared at his reflection in the river, he couldn't deny the shopkeeper was right, they were quite handsome.

"This is not a date, Khajiit. That dragon could very well kill us if we're not prepared" the Breton snapped, having finished her own packing and arriving right as the Khajiit had begun to admire himself. He straightened up from his crouched position and coughed, acting as cool as he could manage. "Your leg seems to be in better condition" Delphine observed, forgiving the cat's dubious behavior for the sake of the task at hand.

The Khajiit puffed out his meagre chest, "Oh yeah. I spent most of last night learning a healing spell. I'm pretty good at it now. I think once you've learned one spell, it's easy to-"

"Let's get moving, we'll talk on the way" the blond cut in, leading the way out of town. The housecarl waited for the Khajiit to shut his trap and start marching before she moved after him. _Women,_ the cat thought. As an innkeeper Delphine was nice and hospitable but as soon as she'd put on her bronze armor and weird sword, she'd become as hardened as the rest of Skyrim's women, at least when they addressed the Khajiit.

It didn't seem proper to ride a horse when Delphine did not have a mount of her own so they dropped Algernon off at the Whiterun stable before pursuing the river east. On the road, they quickly encountered a bear and the Khajiit was treated to a demonstration of the Breton's abilities. She fought smart and her strikes were fast, slicing in and out before the beast had a chance to retaliate. Her sword was different from the usual Nord blades, it only had one edge for cutting and it was so thin and long the cat thought for sure the steel would break on contact. The grip was odd too it seemed to be made for holding the sword in both hands though Delphine had no problem wielding it with one.

Needless to say, the bear didn't stand a chance. "Damn, that was great. Especially for someone your age" the Dragonborn praised, not understanding why Lydia had suddenly stopped walking to give him a warning glance.

"You need to learn to watch that tongue of yours Dragonborn. Or else someone might cut it out for you" was the Breton's reply. She didn't sound angry, it was simply the truth. They were walking in near-silence after that, the brunt of their conversations coming from the Khajiit whispering to his housecarl.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"My Thane, most women do not like having their age pointed out to them"

"But I was complimenting her. Don't tell me women don't like compliments"

"Not when it's for something so bitter as senescence"

"Sene- what? Doesn't she know that the riper fruits are the sweetest?"

"She is not a fruit, my Thane"

There was a pause and then, "Lydia, have you ever eaten juniper berry pie? We never had pie in Elsweyr so I really wanna try it"

The Nord sighed, "No. I have never tried that particular pie"

"Wait... is that why you're mad at me? Cause I called you a fruit?"

"You have never called me a fruit but no. I am not mad at you"

"Then what's with the false front?"

Before Lydia could reply an arrow abruptly struck the ground beside the Khajiit's paws causing him to jump a foot in the air from surprise. It had come from the closer of two towers they had been passing along the path. Valtheim Towers was the name of the structures on the map and the bridge between them was supposed to serve as a river crossing point though bandits had ransacked the place and were currently using it as a toll bridge. The arrow had been a cautionary shot meant to show what a dangerous position the travellers were in.

One foolish bandit, a Nord in animal skins, had the audacity to threaten Delphine with the promise of safety in exchange for 500 septims. The Breton had cleaved the man in half without any fear of the archers keeping watch from the highest windows of the tower even when they began raining arrows down on the trio.

There was nowhere to duck for cover so the travellers were driven into the tower where three bandits were waiting for them on the steps in the small cylindrical room. They could not all fight at the same time without risking hitting each other so the Breton and the housecarl dealt with the outlaws side-by-side, pushing their way up the stairs while the Khajiit was left near the entryway, unable to do anything.

He waited, sitting on the bottom step with his chin in his hands, sulking. Above him, dust was being shaken loose from the stones that comprised the tower as his companions cleared the buildings, occasionally a bandit would drop from the battlements and land with an unpleasant crunch on the cobbled path outside. _Women._

* * *

Night had settled its raven wings over Skyrim when the Nord and the Breton returned to find the Khajiit fast asleep, leaning against the interior wall of the tower, still halfway seated on the staircase. His whiskers fluttered with his tired exhalations and he was so far gone, they didn't feel right moving him. So Delphine took out her bedroll and set it out on the floor, the housecarl doing the same, lying next to where her Thane was snoozing. They slept curled up in the base of the tower, the looming confrontation with the dragon gripped in their minds but not so tightly that they couldn't give way to slumber.

Chapter End.

**AN: A bit of a filler chapter. I hope that fruit conversation made sense. It did in my twisted mind so that's why I even bothered to include it. Darko actually meant to say Juniper Berry Crostata like in the game but they're essentially pies. **


	10. In Came the Flood

**Chapter Ten: In Came the Flood**

_Once or twice a week, the boys were given a lesson in healing and potion-making by Jyric's mother, Imogen though the townspeople called her Lady Gen. Darko had a bad habit of zoning out whenever the portly woman was speaking but Jyric was captivated enough for the both of them. She would sometimes take the boys into the infirmary, a separate area attached to the Bretons' hut where the healer took in wounded travelers or ill citizens. They got to see the healing process in action from how to deal with a venomous snake bite to sewing gashes together to medicines for sand fever. _

_Often Darko had to sit out on these hands-on lessons as he was squeamish and at the mere sight of blood he would feel sick or even faint. Lady Gen never minded though, she was always a kind and homely woman and she would brew the Khajiit a calming tea whenever the boy showed signs of discomfort. _

_On an especially windy afternoon, Jyric and Darko were taken to the bed of a patient suffering from a Shadow Adder bite. He was a greying Khajiit trader with one eye completely blind and he was missing a few fingers but those were nothing compared to the intense acid sensation of the venom. The entrance wound was small like any typical snake bite, two minute puncture wounds spaced an inch apart. What scared the young Khajiit was the area around the marks – in this case on the merchant's arm – where the fur had been burned away to show the pulsing of the victim's veins like tiny black worms wriggling beneath the skin. _

_Jyric was fascinated, asking his mother question after question about the venom and the Shadow Adder itself. Darko had his eyes closed at this point but he could still hear the Breton woman's explanations. The poison could not be sucked out like any other venom because once it made contact with the blood, it thickened into the 'black worms' making it impossible to vacuum the acid out without taking the entire vein with it. To cure it, one had to inject a mixture of herbs into the bloodstream. This was done by using a solid grass chute that was thin enough to puncture the vein without tearing and siphoning the mulched ingredients down some sort of tube. Imogen made her own tubes out of dried chicken gut though pig heart-string worked fine as well so long as the interior wasn't too moist that the powder would stick to the sides. _

_Shadow Adders, although dangerous, usually kept to themselves under the sands of the desert though many an unwary traveler had found themselves accidentally stepping on one. Unless the victims were treated soon, the venom would spread, coiling through the blood and thickening the flow until the poor soul was covered in the 'black worms' and died from clotting. Their venom was milked and sold on the black market for exorbitant prices because it also made an effective weapon against certain metals used in armor which corroded on contact with the acid. _

_Darko fell unconscious after Imogen had listed the ingredients needed to cure the poison. When Jyric had asked the Khajiit to name them later, he'd forgotten every single one. Except juniper berries, that one he could recall with no difficulty._

* * *

The Breton was beginning to lament asking the Dragonborn to join her in challenging the dragon. All he seemed to do was talk, scurry around and argue with his housecarl. If he really was the Dragonborn then she was tempted to believe Skyrim was doomed. It was a shame, she rather enjoyed living. Her job at the Sleeping Giant was simple – smile, serve food and drink, clean, order people around – and her work with the Blades had nearly ended when the Thalmor hunted their members down but she was happy.

"Delphine you agree with me right?" the Khajiit piped up, having seen the older woman's smile and assuming it was a reaction to whatever he was talking about.

"Hm? I'm sorry but what are you referring to?" the blond replied, she'd been avoiding the cat's discussions since they left the towers but she thought it wouldn't hurt to join in now that they were getting close to Kynesgrove. Dragons made for excellent conversation killers as well as people killers.

She saw an exasperated look take over the Khajiit's face, at least she supposed since it was hard for her to distinguish between one cat face and another. "I was saying that Lydia would make for a much better warrior if she just used her anger" he groused, clawing at the air like a sabre for effect, "Or any emotion really"

_This again_, the cat and the Nord had been going back and forth on the topic for an hour now. Apparently, something had happened and the housecarl was acting more distant than usual and it was driving her 'master' insane. "No I agree with the housecarl. The battlefield is no place for rampant emotions. It is much more effective to stay neutral and not let feelings cloud your judgement" Delphine answered and was impressed to see the Nord keep her smugness hidden. She couldn't say the same for the Dragonborn who was obviously skeptical.

"Seriously? Emotions are what make us human. It's what separates us from the beasts" it was funny coming from a half-human, half-cat but no one laughed. The Dragonborn really believed in what he was saying.

"I admit there is a time and place for being emotional but I am a housecarl. I am sworn to do as you say and I cannot do my job if I am distracted by personal bias" Lydia murmured, she was already stretching the boundaries of her oath by arguing so openly with her Thane. "It is better that you dislike me than if you are harmed on my watch"

Delphine shot her hand up in front of the Khajiit before he could retaliate, there was a bedraggled Nord woman sprinting towards them on the path and she didn't even stop when she screamed, "Dragon! A creature spat from Oblivion itself! Run!" then she was gone down the slope, still wailing at the top of her lungs.

The suffocating scent of smoke wafted after her, it was coming from a house just up the way, painted in soot and ash from the flames that enveloped it. They'd reached Kynesgrove and it was like the whole world was aflame. The Breton sped forward, leaving the two adventurers to dash after her, both still caught up in the heat of their own conflict. She did not attempt to help the villagers, there was no time and no need, whoever was caught in the blast was surely dead. "No emotions" Delphine reminded the Khajiit coldly, circling up the hill towards the burial grounds.

With the crumbling settlement lighting their way into the forested areas, they could just make out the massive form of a dragon hovering in the sky. The trio got closer, crouching behind a boulder when they were near enough to hear what the dragon was saying for it was indeed speaking though not in a language any of them could understand.

_"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!" _

"That's the same dragon that attacked Helgen! What is it doing?" the Khajiit whispered, from his position he could see that there was a large mound of dry dirt below where the black dragon was flapping its powerful wings. He remembered the beast clearly and there was no mistaking the large spines that erupted from its back and its head, deadlier than the horns on Molag Bal . And those gleaming red eyes, such a warm hue with such icy depths like diving into a volcano and coming out frozen.

"My Thane this is probably not the best time to be curious" Lydia whispered back.

"I'll stop asking once you start acting like a person again" he snapped.

"I swear to the Nine if you two don't halt your bickering I will kill you both before that dragon has a chance to" Delphine interjected.

_"Slen, Tiid, Vo!"_

"Lydia please. Do you really think I'm better off with you treating me like some sort of noble?"

"My Thane..."

The earth shook. It wasn't enough to rock trees or mountains but it did split the burial ground. From its dirt nap a hundred feet below the earth, a dragon skeleton emerged, clawing and grasping at the soil as it freed its lengthy body. As if time were spinning backwards, organs and muscle began to form on the ancient bones then flesh and skin and cartilage. Before long there was a fully reformed dragon, silver and spiky and alive, perched where the dirt mound had been, its huge jaws opening to speak to its ebony kin."_Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?"_

_"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir"_

"Hm. Dragons resurrecting each other?" Delphine muttered to herself. She hoped they wouldn't have to fight both the reptiles at once, otherwise their mission was guaranteed to be a failure. Not that one dragon was anything to smile about. It didn't matter really; they were probably going to die anyway.

_"Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi" _the black dragon's voice thundered as it finally turned its attention to them, trembling the pebbles and stones that littered the area beneath the Khajiit's paws. Defiantly, the cat stepped out from their hiding place, glaring pure hatred at the dragon. "You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah"

"I didn't ask for this! I came to Skyrim to find a friend, not to slay dragons!" the cat yowled above the din of the thrashing wings, not too surprised to hear the dragon use the mortal tongue. The black beast's eyes seemed to glow brighter at the Dragonborn's retort but it did not attack, "But I guess friends are pretty worthless right? Who needs friends when you can live to be a great hero?" The Khajiit glanced at his housecarl when he said that and he could tell she was conflicted.

In response, the black dragon made a noise in its throat that was comparable to a human laugh before taking to the clouded skies in one swoop, _"Sahloknir, krii daar joorre"_ it rumbled, disappearing over the trees in time for rain to start pattering onto the forest floor.

The second dragon, apparently named Sahloknir, rose into the air as well but it did not follow its kin. Instead, it spread its wings to their full span, stretching after its many years of slumber. The scales and spikes along its back clicked against each other, shimmering with raindrops and its own silvery hue as it lengthened its spine and raised its opal-white head. "I am Sahloknir! Hear my Voice and despair!"

* * *

Delphine had to hand it to the Khajiit, he was fighting well for someone so absorbed in his personal issues and his anger really appeared to be fueling his attacks. Sahloknir was no push over either, the dragon was able to use both flame and frost shouts which made its moves harder to predict. The housecarl, well, the Breton already knew about that occupation's infamous fighting skills so it didn't throw her too much to see the Nord was giving the dragon a hard time. Really, the only problem she could think of was that the two warriors didn't know how to shut up.

"It is not my job to be your friend. I am here to protect you!" Lydia shouted over the rain and the explosive sound of fire shooting from the dragon's mouth as she dodged behind an overgrown oak. Her Thane had ducked under a tree next to the Nord's, his eyes focused on the dragon but his thoughts were taken up by his housecarl's words.

"Well you could've fooled me! Here I thought you could do both those things at the same time, y'know, like you were when we met!" the Khajiit hissed, leaping out when Sahloknir was diverted by the Breton. He ran his swords through the dragon's scales, slipping away when the beast roared and spun after him.

Lydia saw the reptile chasing the cat and as soon as its back was turned, she ran up the dragon's spine, grabbing hold of its thin spikes to keep her steady. When she'd reached the base of its neck and after a lot of reeling and waving on the dragon's part, she took a chunk out of its flesh with her axe, flooding the silver with crimson. She dismounted before the dragon could take flight with her on its back. "That could not last. My Thane, you must understand I can't keep you safe if I..." the housecarl had to stop to raise her shield as Sahloknir fired a ball of ice at her, knocking the Nord to the ground but not doing any major damage.

"What? If you worry about me? Why is that, huh?" the Dragonborn flung a spout of flame at the dragon's wings, hoping to singe through the leathery hide. The magic managed to eat through a corner of the flesh but as soon as the lizard opened its wings to fly, the rain doused the flames. He ran into the forest once more when the dragon released a fire breath fifty times stronger than the Khajiit's tiny spell. The deluge saved him, minimizing the reach of the fire as it was put out within inches of the cat's cowering form.

"Because eventually I would make the same mistake as I did in Ustengrav" There was a screech and the dragon was grounded again, the housecarl's arrows having done a good job at tearing through its white flesh. Sahloknir battled with its fangs and tail then, striking like a cobra at the Breton and the Nord who had engaged it in close-combat. The Khajiit joined them, slicing the dragon's tail when it wasn't slamming into the ground. Lightning signaled the arrival of thunder overhead, cracking the night sky.

"What mistake?" It was in-between the flashes, when the cat couldn't see past the torrents, that he was suddenly whacked in the face by the dragon's wing. He sailed a few feet through the air and landed in the boughs of a tree, a meter above the ground. He was winded and felt like vomiting but he was fine until he heard a woman's pained yell. _Sweet juniper berries! _With no way to tell who it was, the Khajiit sprang from the tree anyway and raced to the battleground, nearly stumbling right into the dragon's side but managing to slide out of the way before he was impaled on its spikes. He hopped over the beast's ice breath and shouted, "Fus, Ro!" to throw the dragon off balance as he bent down to pick up his unconscious companion. She was too light to be the housecarl so it had to be Delphine.

In a split second decision, the Khajiit chose to hide the Breton near the edge of the forest even though he knew his housecarl would be left alone to fight for a few minutes while he sprinted away. He couldn't risk the dragon killing Delphine though and that was inevitable if she was discovered unconscious too near to where it was rampaging.

Setting the woman down on a patch of grass, the cat could see a tooth was stuck in the Breton's shoulder. _Ugh... ok ... just take it out, no big deal. _He slid the fang upwards, gagging when he saw blood flowing freely from the hole that was left. Abandoning the bloodied tooth by his foot and placing his hands so his index fingers and thumbs formed a diamond shape around the wound, he cast a healing spell, immediately feeling his magicka drain as strings of light circled the Breton's shoulder. To fully restore Delphine, the cat had to use all his magicka, leaving him exhausted but still willing to fight. "We'll be back for you. I hope this doesn't mean I fail the test"

* * *

Sahloknir was amused, to think that mortals had risen to meet the threat of the Dovah, it was preposterous and yet the dragon was losing. It was a good fight, a good warm-up after nothingness for so long but the ancient beast had no intention of dying again. "Hiding will not save you!" the dragon spoke in a billowing tone, scanning the trees for the housecarl and the Khajiit. Even with its great wisdom and predatory prowess, the dragon could not see past the downpour without the aid of the lightning and flying was not an option. Not even dragons could withstand the might of nature herself.

"Hey ugly! Who says I was hiding?" came the cat's taunting lilt, he was standing right in front of the dragon having climbed onto the boulder when Sahloknir had its head in the leaves. He saw the dragon's dark eyes narrow in bestial hunger. "You better not have eaten my friend!"

The dragon made the same chortling sound as its black kin, lowering its neck so it could meet the Khajiit head-on, "I see that you mortals have grown arrogant while I slept!" and then it struck, trying to catch the Dragonborn in its teeth like it had the Breton. It missed at the same moment as a blink of lightning struck over the forest, illuminating the dragon's great fangs and shining scales as its reptilian mug passed through the ethereal Khajiit, colliding with the stone. Sahloknir let out a gruesome snarl, blood smearing around its broken nose. A number of the beast's front teeth clattered from its maw, its entire muzzle having caved into itself, there was even a slanted fang protruding through its lip.

"Ah, well, maybe your face wasn't so bad before" the cat jeered, his form solidifying.

"I do not fear you, Dovahkiin! Yol -" the fire breath shot crookedly from the dragon's throat as a shield knocked its head away from the Khajiit's direction. Sahloknir tripped to the side from the blow, crashing against a tree as its flames set parts of the woods on fire only to be put out by the rain. Lydia sprinted out from the brush, hurriedly grabbing her shield when she saw the dragon righting itself. She half-ran, half-slid her way to her Thane's side, preparing to engage the beast once more.

The Dragonborn could see she was drenched and covered in mud up to her knees but he didn't spot any injuries that needed attention. He was relieved and yet his bitterness got in the way, "And which Lydia are you?" he asked, mockingly. His gaze was fixed on his housecarl though he could see the dragon moving from the corner of his eye, Sahloknir appeared to be severely wounded, it wouldn't take much effort to finally subdue it.

"You know what? You win" the Nord answered, cracking the dragon's jaw when the beast had made a snap at her, blood tore from its thick skin and it howled in fury. "If you want emotion then I will give you emotion" and she did, she was angry, the dangerous kind, hushed and volatile. It was scary for the Khajiit to know that rage was aimed at him but he was satisfied and he showed it by grinning through the darkness.

By then the lightning and thunder had eased and the sky was spitting rain rather than heaving it; Sahloknir was dying and it knew and accepted its fate. However, it wasn't going to die without another lash at the Khajiit, the Dovahkiin who was stupid or brave enough to challenge Alduin. The dragon lunged despite the sorry state of its snout and it saw the cat take up arms against the oncoming barrage but at the last second, the beast let out a "Fo" and an icy breath breezed from its throat, deadly crystals needling towards the Dragonborn. What the dragon did not see was the housecarl tackle her Thane to the ground as she pulled her shield in front of her to block most of the frozen knives though a few did scatter and graze through her flesh. Sahloknir roared brutishly, slithering its neck back to strike a second, more fatal blow.

There was a splinter of lightning then and the Khajiit was given a vision of the dragon's demise. Delphine had appeared at the scene and, using a boulder as a platform to leap from, she carved her strange sword clean through the dragon, beheading the beast in one fell swing. The reptile's head shook the earth when it toppled to the ground with the Breton touching down smoothly a foot away, not making a sound.

"Delphine! Great timing" the Khajiit cheered, holding his arms out as if to hug the older woman but thinking better of it when he noticed her serious expression.

"It is good to see you both alive. Any injuries to report?" she asked, sounding very official. She didn't get a reply until after an unnatural wind whooshed from the dragon to the Khajiit, ruffling and drying his fur to the point of puffiness.

"Nah, a few scratches but nothing to worry about" said the Dragonborn, slightly embarrassed. There had been more than a couple incidents in the desert when the cat had gone for a swim and come out to dry only to find his fur had become voluminous and light, making him look like a fluffy kitten. He was younger then, now he looked like a cat that had been dragged across a carpet. "Right, Lydia...ah?"

The housecarl was standing further off from the Khajiit, her face partially hidden by her dark locks, a sadly thoughtful look in her eyes. Her anger had evaporated with the storm as the foul weather eased and sunlight poked past the cloud cover and through the forest canopy, shining columns of yellow against the misty green. The cat walked over to the Nord, putting one paw on her shoulder, his furry face scrunched in concern.

"In Ustengrav, I rushed into battle against opponents I'd never fought before. I did not stop to think or consider their strength. The only thing that mattered to me was that we retrieved the horn as quickly as possible. I was worried about you..." Lydia struggled to meet her Thane's gaze. She wasn't good at explaining herself, not when it came to something personal. "And then I fell unconscious. I left you alone in a dungeon full of enemies"

"But I was fine"

"I know. I think that scared me even more than if you'd been hurt" she admitted, "I thought if I treated you like a proper Thane, I would be able to protect you more effectively. No attachment, no emotion, no mistakes" Lydia huffed; she was beginning to sound like Irileth. "I was wrong"

For the first time since Delphine had been travelling with the pair, the Khajiit was silent. He had no clever rebuttal or haughty line about how he was right the whole time, he was utterly speechless.

"From the day we met I knew that more than a housecarl or a warrior, you needed a friend. I'm not sure I can be all those things for you" Lydia sighed, her Thane's paw on her shoulder felt like a huge weight so she tried to shake it off but the Khajiit refused to budge. In fact, he pulled her closer, holding both her shoulders so that their foreheads could touch. There was no escaping those ocean depths now; Lydia was put right in the middle of the flood, the pools of aqua that were the cat's eyes.

"Lydia, my friend left to a place worlds away from where we came from. He sent me one letter in all those years that told me to find him. He didn't give me a time or a date. He hasn't written to me since then and I have no idea where to start looking. He's the greatest man I have ever known. You have saved me countless times, risked your life for me simply because it's your job. You climbed a gods-damn mountain with me, promised to help me even if it meant travelling through all of Skyrim. I shouted you into breaking your leg and you still stayed with me" The Khajiit hated it but he was crying, he always cried at the most inopportune moments, this being a prime example. "I think you at least qualify for acquaintance status" he hiccoughed.

The Nord smiled, an awkward and quiet smile that barely grazed her lips but the cat saw it, it'd be hard not to their noses were on the verge of colliding.

"Are you two going to kiss or can we get going back to Riverwood?" Delphine grumbled, not caring too much. Oh to be young again.

The Dragonborn laughed through his tears, turning to face the strict Breton, "Aw Delphine, you wanna get in on this?" he made a puckering sound with his lips and held out one of his arms, inviting her to join in the huddle, laughing even harder when the older woman grimaced. He'd forgotten what it was like to be that happy, to know that he had a long road ahead of him and to be okay with it; he missed Jyric more than anything but for the moment he was okay with that too. Besides, after seeing the hilarious reaction on Delphine's face, he'd be hard pressed not to feel optimistic.

Chapter End.

**AN: All the dialogue that Alduin and Sahloknir use are from the game, I just tried to squeeze them into some semblance of conversation with the other characters. For the record, if I don't remember something in the game (happens a lot actually) I refer to the Elder Scrolls Wiki. I realize it's not the most dependable source but it seems accurate enough for my needs. **

**Shadow Adders don't exist in the Elder Scrolls series as far as I know. They're my own creation.**

**I like how every five chapters there's just a downpour of cheesiness... wait till you read Chapter 15 **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	11. Atop the City of Stone Walls

**Chapter Eleven: Atop the City of Stone Walls**

Delphine was Grandmaster, leader, of a faction called The Blades. They were formerly bodyguards to the Emperors and, before that, dragon hunters. Somewhere between then and now, their organization fizzled out when the Thalmor laid siege on their members. The Khajiit didn't know who the Thalmor were but he was beginning to dislike them. The Breton shared his ill will for good reason: they were elven-supremacists and would want nothing more than for the Empire to be brought down. She also suspected the Thalmor were responsible for the resurrection of the dragons.

Still, the Dragonborn did not follow his new friend back to Riverwood, he wanted to visit Windhelm and since the city was so close to Kynesgrove, he figured he might as well do it then. "We'll meet you at the Sleeping Giant once we've finished up in Windhelm and return the horn. I promise" the cat meowed. He made a mental note to stop off in Whiterun too. He needed to see if Farengar had discovered anything about the Dragonstone. Plus he wanted to pick up Algernon.

The older woman agreed with hesitation, she didn't want to delay her plans but she didn't have much choice, the Dragonborn had returned and her duty was to heed his wishes. She gritted her teeth and nodded, "I will hold you to your word. For now however, I will retire for the night, I leave at dawn" the Breton bowed. Her blond ponytail swished after her as she left her seat in front of the relaxing dance of the fire-pit and retreated into her tent, pulling the flap closed with another swoosh.

A torch bug buzzed in the stilted air near the Khajiit's ear, amplified by how quiet the night was. If not for the burned buildings and the dragon corpse near their campsite, it would've been impossible to tell there had been a huge skirmish in that forest only a day ago. Nature was already replenishing itself and soon the dragon would be buried in the earth once more and one day no one would remember Sahloknir or that dragons even existed. It was a humbling thought.

"My Thane?" Lydia asked in a hushed voice in case Delphine was already sleeping. The housecarl had noticed the Khajiit's mind wandering and the same gleam had appeared in his eyes as that time in the cave, it scared her a little though she would never show it.

"Hm?" the cat looked up from the flames, the torch bug had whizzed off into the darkened woods, a tiny speck of light beneath the shadowy foliage. He hardly noticed it, his focus split between his housecarl and his own meanderings. The joy from their victory had fled to be replaced by apprehension, a fluttering in his belly that could only come from his small hope and large doubt that Jyric would be waiting for him in Windhelm. How many more locations on his map would he have to cross out before his friend showed up? Would they recognize each other? Would Jyric mind that he was Dragonborn?

"I think we should get some rest. We'll need our strength for exploring the city, I hear it can be quite a maze" the Nord offered. She'd learned of the massive walls surrounding Windhelm, taller even than those of Whiterun, and the winding streets and narrow passages of the tight-knit city itself, and of course the Grey Quarter. Housecarls had to study a vast array of different subjects; they never knew what their Thanes would be interested in so it was important to be as knowledgeable about anything and everything as possible. It had been sheer luck or misfortune that her Thane was new to Skyrim and any knowledge she had, he could use. She only regretted not knowing more about the Khajiit but that was beyond the ability of books and teachers to solve.

The Dragonborn smiled with one side of his face at her suggestion, he was mentally exhausted and he hoped sleep would dispel his troubling thoughts. He waved goodnight to the housecarl as he entered his tent, leaving the Nord to stand guard for the majority of the evening. The Khajiit shrugged off his fur armor and collapsed onto his bedroll, hardly wrapping himself in its sheets when he drifted to sleep.

* * *

_Jyric held the needle in his fingers, the metal was still hot from being turned over the candle and there was a sliver of smoke trickling from the sharpened end. His ears were warm too and the two holes in each of his lobes stung but he wasn't about to let that bother him, not when Darko was about to do the same. _

_It had started as a dumb game, daring each other to do increasingly silly acts. The Breton had had to put on one of his mother's gowns and he was still wearing it then, the dress drooping on his thin frame. The Khajiit had stolen an apple from one of the town vendors though it wasn't as bad as it sounded, the middle-aged Khajiit who ran the booth absolutely adored the boy, she pretty much gave him the fruit when he'd asked to 'steal' it. _

"_Who asks when they're stealing? You're supposed to just take it" the Breton had grumbled, wrinkling his nose in disappointment while his friend took a bite out of the red fruit._

"_Mmm... She's nice. I didn't want to hurt her feelings" Darko said, his little mouth full of mushy apple flesh. _

"_If you did it right, she'd never have to know. Gods, you'd make a terrible thief. Especially for a Khajiit" _

"_Jyric that's racist" _

"_You don't even know what that word means"_

_The Khajiit swallowed the last bit of the apple, realizing that he really didn't know what 'racist' meant. He knew it was bad though, that was what really mattered. They'd gone back to Jyric's place after that, and there the Breton had sprung his next dare._

"_I don't know about this... Mama might get mad" Darko stuttered, eyeing the needle like it was a bloodied sword. It wasn't odd for a Khajiit to have piercings, heck he'd seen many cats with three to four ear rings on the same ear and even some with eyebrow or nose piercings and yet it felt like a grown up thing, not a kitten thing. He shut his eyes tight as Jyric drew closer to the Khajiit's ear, the steam from the needle ticking his fur, making the cat panic. _

"_Stop moving, I don't want to tear your whole ear out" _

_There was a pause and then the pinch._

* * *

The Khajiit awoke to yelling, sitting up in his bed, it took him a few minutes to figure out the hollering was coming from him. He snapped his mouth shut and the morning was quiet again save for the twittering of birds and rustling of plant life. His housecarl was crouched in front of him, hazel eyes brimming with alarm, her axe drawn but lowered at her side. He stared at her, his brain not having woken up with his body. She was panting a little like she'd had to sprint to his tent at the sound of his screaming or maybe it was nerves.

"Was it a nightmare my Thane?" Lydia asked, brushing her hair away from her face, she hadn't had time to fix her bed head and the run hadn't helped. She didn't get an answer but was slammed into an unexpected embrace by her Thane. Her surprise was hidden by the dusty fur she'd been pressed against. He wasn't crying he simply wanted to hug her like a child would a stuffed animal.

After a time, much too long for the Nord, the cat let her go, his eyes remaining spacey. "It was awful... He looked so weird in that dress... the color did not flatter him at all" He watched his housecarl glance away then back at him, as if to reset the scene in front of her.

"Uhm ... " No amount of training would've prepared Lydia for this, her stoic wall was being chipped away by a man in a woman's gown. She coughed and composed herself; she was a Nord, a warrior, proud and unbreakable. Except she didn't feel particularly proud, not when she saw what her Thane was wearing, "You should put some clothes on, Windhelm is waiting" she grunted, keeping her eyes fixed on a corner of the tent.

Upon mention of his state of undress, the Dragonborn looked down at his waist. The Khajiit was jerkily pulled out of dreamland and back to Skyrim and he was in nothing but his skivvies. He turned red, or he would've if his skin was visible, and chuckled in mortification. Visible to both him and the Nord trying her best to not make eye contact, was his scrawny torso with a few ribs poking through his fur, his slightly protruding pot-belly, white like the rest of his markings, and the slight bump in his trousers, the thin fabric not leaving much to the imagination.

Rudely but without meaning it to be, the Khajiit shoved his housecarl out of the tent and drew the flaps shut. "I-I'll be ready in just a moment... J-just cook up some breakfast" his muffled voice could be heard shouting through the temporary shelter. Lydia couldn't affirm his order, she was too stunned. All she could think about was how glad she was Delphine hadn't stuck around to witness that awkwardness. _Well I did learn something new, Khajiit men really are built like Nord men..._

* * *

It was inescapable, like quicksand only they weren't suffocating in tiny grains of earth but in a thick fog of uncomfortable tension. Sure it was expected, it was the only thing that could have followed seeing her Thane almost naked but that didn't make it any more bearable. The Khajiit probably made it worse because he refused to keep up a conversation over three words long so there was no distraction, nothing to halt the image of the nude cat from appearing in the Nord's mind. She considered chugging a bottle of Frostbite Venom they'd extracted from the spider in Ustengrav but that would most likely kill her. It would solve the issue permanently though.

They arrived at the stables outside Windhelm by midday though it was difficult to tell, the area seemed to be shrouded in clouds at all times and the temperature had plummeted exponentially. The Khajiit would have preferred warmer weather but he did like the view, there were mountain ranges on every side and the city itself was built on the banks of a partially frozen river. The walls stood proudly against the grey backdrop, casting formidable shadows along the ice many feet below the bridge that led from the stables to the main gates.

Darting ahead in excitement, the Dragonborn slid whimsically across the icy overpass, letting out a cheerful yip when he reached the guards at the door. He bowed to them, grinning widely when the helmeted Nords did not know how to react. The housecarl arrived soon after, escorting the overly enthusiastic Khajiit into the city before he was arrested for disturbing the peace. At least the awkward air had dissipated.

"Wow look at this place! Its bloody freezing but you were right! There are tons of buildings and pathways" he was shivering in anticipation and cold, looking from the left to the right, scanning the city for the inn and Ralof. The Khajiit had never seen such a dense population before and the walls only added to the size of the settlement. For a cat, it was very tempting to leap onto the roofs and explore the city from above, get a feel for the place. First he had to drop his stuff off. He didn't see the blond Stormcloak but the nearest inn, Candlehearth Hall, happened to be the triangular structure right in front of where the travellers had entered. "Isn't that convenient?"

The Khajiit scampered into the inn, his housecarl begrudgingly following. There were two levels to the hall and both were sparsely furnished with a few tables and chairs here and there. The most notable sight was the large hearth in the center of the second floor, surrounded by tables and chairs for patrons to take pleasure in the heat while talking or drinking. They didn't dally there though. The Dragonborn had rented a room, dumped his leather bag onto the bed and changed into his newly purchased clothes, a grey rough-spun tunic and dark leggings as soon as he was able. Lydia removed her armor as well, choosing a similar get-up to her Thane, with a beige top instead of grey. She kept her weapon on her belt just in case.

Their meal was devoured quickly; the Khajiit was in too much of a frenzy to sit still for long and he kept spilling his mead much to the annoyance of the inn staff. He left a nice tip for the trouble then they were out. Not even forty-five minutes had passed since they'd entered Candlehearth Hall which meant the Dragonborn had an entire half-day to spend sightseeing.

"Give me a boost would you?" the Khajiit asked when they were outside, he was leaning with his belly against the stone wall of a residential home, reaching with his paws to grab at any outcropping bricks. He found purchase on a solid looking rock but he couldn't raise himself higher without assistance. Lydia rolled her eyes and crouched down, letting her Thane use her shoulders as a step so he could climb onto the roof. "Geez this place is gorgeous. Give me your hand I'll help you up"

A paw was shimmied down in front of the housecarl's face and when she looked up, the Khajiit was waiting for her expectantly. "Are you sure the roof won't collapse my Thane?" she hadn't forgotten the cat's comment about her weight, though she assumed it didn't apply now that she wasn't wearing her heavy armor. The Dragonborn shook his head, his eyes pleading. Letting out a resigned huff, the Nord hooked onto the Khajiit's gangly arms expecting him to be dragged down when she leaped up from the stones but he managed to lift her to a spot beside him. It took him a few minutes to strain for air but that didn't douse his spirits in the slightest.

One guard had seen the duo and their strange antics yet she didn't think anything of it, you'd have to be really stupid to attempt thievery or assassination in the middle of the day even if the sky was overcast. She quickly grumbled, "Sneak thief" then continued on her patrol route, not aware that the Khajiit had heard and was scoffing at her.

"The guards in Skyrim sure are mean. I heard this one guy commenting on the fur in my ears. I mean come on! I'm a cat!" his housecarl shrugged at his ranting, amused.

"What **are** we doing up here?" Lydia asked, curiosity taking over, she hoped they weren't actually planning on stealing anything. As a housecarl she would do whatever her Thane asked but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"It's too cluttered on the ground. Up here we can see everything, we'll visit Ralof once we've scoped the city" the Khajiit replied, his real intention being that if Jyric was in Windhelm, he'd be able to spot him from a mile off, if he recognized the Breton anyway. Then he could pounce on his friend, it would be a fitting welcome, a companionable prank after six years apart.

In order to move from roof to roof without shaking the structure or loosening the icy shingles, the Khajiit and the Nord had to crouch, scurrying on light feet from one home to the next and sometimes taking turns crossing on the more fragile houses. They made it onto the great walls at some points, dipping back onto buildings to avoid where the wall overlooked the river.

Admittedly it was even chillier at their height on top of the city but the view was worth the inevitable stuffy noses. They could see the whole layout of the area, the old buildings with their crooked exteriors, the bear of Windhelm painted on blue and gold banners swaying in tune with the northern winds, the port with its moored ships lapping at the glassy waters and the giant castle at the heart of it all.

When they'd circled from the entrance to the left, passing over the Palace of Kings which they were saving for later, to the Grey Quarter, the Khajiit stopped. There was a commotion from below where the cat was hunkering, an argument between a Dunmer and a Nord was reaching a heated conclusion and the elf was knocked to the ground by the other man's blow. The Khajiit was about to interfere but Lydia held him back, emerald eyes searing. He didn't need to ask, it was clear the Nord and the Dunmer population in Windhelm was greatly segregated for some reason and getting in the middle of it was probably a bad move. _I'll need to talk to the Jarl about that. _

Ignoring his inhibitions for the time being, they pattered on, roof tiles clinking as they wandered onto the final stretch of houses. So far the Khajiit had not laid eyes on his friend and by then he was sure the Breton would not show up. He wasn't even disappointed merely tired. The Khajiit halted again, sitting down on the top of an abandoned house, rubbing his eyes wearily. The Nord rested a rooftop away, worried the neglected building would have rotted supports and that any extra weight would cause it to cave into itself.

"Lydia please, these rooftops are amazingly sturdy. Back in Elsweyr our huts had straw for covers" the cat teased, not hearing the crunch underneath his relaxed posture. The housecarl froze, gesturing for the Khajiit to move towards her but he laughed it off. "Calm down. It's fi – " there was a blaring creak and then the Dragonborn was dropped out of sight, the crumbling noise of stone and wooden beams accompanying his fall to the second floor of the house, leaving a large hole in the roof where the cat had been.

Abandoning any fear of heights or dilapidated roofs, the housecarl dashed over to peer down the cavity. "My Thane should I come down?" she called, ready to jump if the cat commanded. She could just make out his feline form amongst the rubble and she could tell he was fine if a bit ruffled.

Coughing, the Khajiit was lifting the bars and grit that had landed on him when he was struck by a disturbing sight. There was a skull peering at him through the cracks of a wooden beam. "Lydiaaaa don't jump yet, I think there's a dead body in here!" Indeed, there were bones scattered around the small, square room, some still had what looked like burnt flesh hanging from them and the worst thing was they were human.

His ears perked in fright as he was suddenly alerted to footsteps coming from the room three stairs below the one the Khajiit had sunken into. He nearly shouted at the approaching figure but stopped himself short when he saw what it was.

"My Thane?" the housecarl yelled from above, the hole wasn't wide enough that she could see what the Dragonborn was staring at but from his stiff posture and fluffy tail it was apparent the cat hadn't been expecting it.

"T-there's a kid here too!" the cat spluttered, gathering his thoughts enough to speak.

"A what!?"

An Imperial boy around twelve years of age was gawking in complete awe and delight at the Khajiit, his twinkling brown eyes level with that of the hunched Dragonborn as he squealed, "You're here! You're really here! I knew the Dark Brotherhood would answer my call!"

"...The Dark-what now?"

Chapter End.

**AN: About Lydia's changing eye color – I saw a mod for Skyrim that had the effect of brightening character eyes so that they stood out a lot more. Lydia with this mod has green eyes, very green actually. In the vanilla game, she seems to have brown eyes. **

**I thought I would incorporate both and have her eye color go from deep hazel to emerald green depending on the lighting. Some people in real life have this, I don't know the correct term for it but it's extremely cool.**

**Also, I don't know why but the chapter titled "Women" got a whole butt-load of views for some reason. I just thought it was funny and perhaps I should really consider my titles before I post. **


	12. It's a Long Story

**Chapter Twelve: It's a Long Story**

The boy watched in expectation as the Dragonborn disentangled himself from the wreckage that was once the Imperial boy's roof and shook himself free of dust and splinters. There wasn't much furniture in the home the cat had fallen into, he could see a fireplace alight in the room where the child had showed up and a desk and a bookcase across from that and a small cupboard full of food precariously placed near a stairway leading down.

When the Khajiit had taken a better look at the desk he could make out a fresh pool of blood that had stained into the old, badly lacquered wood. _Don't tell me this kid... _he thought and then gulped. "Hey, uh, what's your name?" he didn't face the child when he asked the question, he was busy examining the damage he'd done and fretting over the possibility that the kid was insane.

"Aventus. Aventus Aretino. I'm the one who performed the Black Sacrament. I need your help" came the boy's small voice, scratchy and awkward with the beginnings of puberty. The Khajiit turned his head a little to show he was listening then carried on separating the debris into piles so he could see what materials he had to work with for repairing the roof. "I need you to kill Grelod the Kind. She's the cruel old witch in charge of the orphanage in Riften. I can pay you... I..."

The Dragonborn hushed the child with a trill made by pursing his lips together and almost whistling. "Look I don't know who you think I am, but I won't kill someone for you. Not even for money" the cat groused, he gazed skyward to see his housecarl peering down at them through the gaping hole. It seemed like she could hear the conversation well enough, her expression was one of uncertainty.

Aventus was adamant though, his desperation over-ruling his sense, "But you're part of the Dark Brotherhood! This is the same stuff you do all the time, please!" The boy's dark eyes were pleading and he was on the verge of tears. It would have been annoying if the Imperial hadn't looked so pathetic.

"I told you, I'm not a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Why do you want this Grelod person dead so badly anyway? You're just a kid" the Khajiit reasoned. He didn't mean to sound condescending but he did.

"It's a long story" was the boy's answer.

"We've got time"

* * *

Even though he'd only been in the 'abandoned' house a total of ten minutes, the Khajiit breathed a sigh of relief when he, the kid and his housecarl left the building to purchase more construction supplies. There had been one or two salvageable support beams and some intact tiles but the rest would have to come from the Dragonborn's own pocket and the Windhelm market. They spent the entirety of that afternoon finding suitable parts and chopping wood for supports and by the time they'd finished shopping, the sky had muddied over to a starry prune-black sky and the Khajiit's pockets had emptied to leave him with barely over 200 septims. _I wonder if its too late to take the kid up on his offer... _although it was a joke, he felt guilty thinking it.

Out of courtesy and a smidgen of pity, the Khajiit payed for the kid to stay at Candlehearth Hall with them until they'd finished with the roof and there they spent the night, everyone in a separate room, the cat kicking himself for being reckless enough to cave in someone's house. He had an awful nightmare that same evening but he couldn't recall it when he woke up early the next morning to a knock at his door. It was his housecarl calling him for construction day.

Because the cat had no experience in fixing anything, it was decided that Lydia would do the actual repair work, giving the 'assassin' an opportunity to talk with the kid. They left the Nord to it, the Khajiit and the Imperial sitting on a nearby bench as the housecarl climbed back onto the flimsy roof dressed in a tunic and the same dark slacks as the day before. Steel armor was definitely too heavy and it was better to risk being attacked unarmed than risk collapsing another section of the roof.

"Is she your servant or something?" Aventus had wondered aloud, too naive to notice when the Nord's hammering suddenly got louder while the Khajiit snickered.

"Something like that. Ow!" the cat yipped as a stray shingle managed to smack the Khajiit on the head even though he and the child were sitting a solid three meters away from the Aretino house. He crossed his arms with a sniffle, "I was kidding, woman!"

Beside him the Imperial giggled, "Oh I get it! She's your wife, right?" the kid nodded knowingly, nudging the Dragonborn who was in a state of pure embarrassment.

"Kid that's all kinds of wrong" the Khajiit dodged, his tone shrill like a scolding teacher's. He hazarded a glance at his housecarl to check if she'd heard but the Nord was too caught up in placing wooden beams to listen in on their petty conversation. "Anyway we're here to talk about you, why were you in that house alone? And with a dead body?"

Aventus' face dropped immediately. He'd hoped to avoid the depressing story and the inevitable false sympathy he was so used to receiving from well-meaning adults. He tried changing the subject but the Dragonborn wouldn't let him and, eventually, the Imperial gave in, for his own sake as much as his new friend's.

He had intended to share only the bare minimum but once the boy got started, he couldn't stop. He ended up spilling everything: about his father who had died when he was very young, about how his mother had to work tirelessly to support her family and of how she never stopped being sad about her husband's death. He also told the Khajiit about how it became too much for his mother to handle and how she floated through every hour as if she had given up on living until, one day, she did and the boy found himself inexplicably alone.

It wasn't a unique story but it was devastating to hear and must have been harder to tell for the child was sobbing fully by the time he finished speaking. The Khajiit had felt like crying too but he held back, he had to be the adult for once and that meant he had to be strong. So he placed his paw on the small of the boy's back and waited patiently for Aventus to let his sorrows flow. He didn't say a word, just listened and let his eyes take in the ironically uplifting scenery.

No one, no matter how they were feeling, could deny how beautiful that morning was. It was sunny and the wind was warm as it blew through the winding streets. Even so, it was still Windhelm. The river stubbornly refused to thaw and there was a relentless layer of snow caked onto the tops of trees and buildings as if the ice was a permanent fixture of the city. It was suiting in a way, icy conditions for an icy city, the cat would've smiled at the thought had it not been for his current circumstances.

"Hey, you know what my mom told me after my dad died?" the Khajiit asked when the kid had settled. The Imperial didn't answer but scooted up from his shoe-gazing to meet the cat's sky-blue eyes. "Si-Hara said, heh that's how she talks" the cat grunted trying to brighten the mood, it didn't work. Clearing his throat, the Khajiit tried again, with feeling, "Si-Hara told Darko, that's me, Darko must be strong! Like werelion Darko must be. The world is beautiful place but with light comes shadow and Darko must be ready" all this was said in the cat's best imitation of his mother's rough, Khajiit tongue. If nothing else, he did get a chuckle out of the child. The Dragonborn smiled at that, removing his paw from the boy's back as he carefully pried, "So that body... that wasn't your mother was it?"

The Aretino boy choked, almost laughing, "Ew no! My mom ... left when I was ten. That corpse was a homeless person I found. They'd frozen outside during a storm so I salvaged their body"

_Like that's any better. _The Khajiit was hesitant to ask for more information but he had to know exactly what was going on otherwise he couldn't help. And there had to be an explanation for the boy's strange hobby, better he get straight to the point now that the kid was opening up, "Why would you want a frosty dead guy in your house? Isn't it... scary?"

"I needed him for the Black Sacrament, dummy"

That word again, the Black Sacrament and the Dark Brotherhood too, they were connected but how did they add up with the rest of Aventus' story? The Khajiit asked as much of the boy who appeared skeptical.

"How do you **not** know who the Dark Brotherhood are? They're a group of skilled assassins, everyone knows about them even though no one has ever managed to catch them. They're like darkness and death incarnated into mortal form! The Black Sacrament is the only way to contact them and tell them about your mark" the Dragonborn felt himself tremble at the wealth of knowledge the young Imperial had on these assassins and he didn't like how proud the boy looked as he spoke about them.

"And what is this Black Sacrament?" the Khajiit mewed, the sun-soaked breeze somehow chilling him to the core.

Aventus didn't have to think on it, his reply was instantaneous, "Its a ritual. You must create a representation of the person you want killed, so basically a body or just the skeleton, the heart and flesh if you don't have a corpse lying around. You light a circle of candles around the body and then you have to stab it repeatedly with a knife rubbed in Nightshade. And you chant"

"You what? Chant..."

The boy nodded, regurgitating the words he'd spent nights memorizing in the fiery blackness of his home with the hopes of summoning an assassin. "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear" he said, his voice low as he repeated the phrase until the Khajiit had the sense to shake the boy out of his trance. The hammering had ceased as this was going on and the cat knew Lydia had witnessed the entire thing. Looking up, he quickly shook his head, gesturing for her to go back to work to which she obeyed with a wary nod.

The Khajiit waited for the construction noises to drum again before he turned back to Aventus and grumbled, "But why would you want someone killed? It's not something to be done easily, even if you aren't the one holding the sword, the blood will still be on your hands" _Wow, when did I become so wise? Maybe the Greybeards are rubbing off on me. Or maybe it's because I'm talking to a child._

Aventus pouted, he was barely a teenager but he understood the cat's logic, it didn't bother him, he lacked the foresight to regret his decision. It was the Khajiit's tone that annoyed him, it was exactly what he'd expected from a grown up, a bunch of sympathy and then the lecture."I know what I'm doing" he hissed with conviction, "Grelod is horrible! When they brought me to that orphanage, she beat me and didn't let me have any food for days. She said it was to prepare me for the harsh world. I think if she isn't killed soon, then the world really is as bad as she says"

There was no use arguing after that, the Khajiit realized, the boy had made up his mind. Sure, it was discouraging but he couldn't save everyone, Jyric had told him that a long time ago and now he saw that it was true. So he let it go, reclining in his seat and putting his paws behind his head as he closed his eyes. _It's too nice a day to be sour_, he thought.

* * *

They took a break for lunch, Lydia more so than the boys who hadn't done any work for the morning. The Khajiit treated his housecarl to whatever she wanted to make up for his nonexistent building repair skills and she had wolfed down two full-course meals with a pint of mead, again, without any help from the men. Noticing the Dragonborn's lack of funds, Aventus purchased his own food with money his mother had saved up before she passed. It was originally intended to pay for a nice home but that wasn't going to happen for obvious reasons so he might as well use it.

The Hall was empty save for the trio, everyone was out basking in the rare sunlight. The Khajiit was taking this time to appreciate how peaceful the inn was with its rustic wooden furnishings and degrading stoneware, it was charming, the perfect destination for a getaway. And then it hit him, "Oh my gods we have to find Ralof!" he yelped, leaping from his seat. The Dragonborn was stunned when his housecarl and the boy didn't react with the least bit of interest, though he supposed there was a reason, the boy didn't know the Stormcloak and Lydia didn't like him. "Fine, fine! I will look for him myself" he growled, pushing his chair underneath the 'rustic' table.

"My Thane, what's the hurry? We still have a roof to repair" was the Nord's halfhearted reply, she was chewing through a piece of bread with vigour, like she hadn't eaten in days, this was after the two full-course meals and mead.

The Dragonborn threw his arms in the air in irritation, "**You** have a roof to repair, I'm going to find my friend, you coming Aventus?" and then he stomped out, the boy trailing neatly behind him, licking a sweet roll. _How could I forget? The whole point of coming here was to visit Ralof... gods I'm a horrible friend. _He fumbled out the door, the sun glaring his eyes to slits as he searched for a place to start looking.

There was no need to go far, the kid apparently knew where the Stormcloaks usually gathered and he led the way to the foreboding Palace of the Kings, gobbling the last of his dessert as he walked.

Up close, the castle was larger than the Khajiit had estimated from his previous point of view on the walls and the shadow it cast was so vast that the warmer air instantly turned cool upon entering into the Jarl's domain. Things got icier from there, the two guards posted at the huge doors were practically radiating with distaste for the Khajiit. _Hmph, they are opposed to the Dunmer, my kind probably isn't welcome either. _His speculations were confirmed when one of the guards lowered his battle ax in front of the Khajiit's chest, blocking his entry into the castle.

Not wanting to cause further conflict, the Dragonborn asked in a derisively polite voice, "I'm sorry sir but is this where I can find Ralof? He's a friend and he told me this is the place to go for joining the Stormcloaks" He peered at the guards with the most innocent smile he could muster but the ax stayed where it was.

"Hah, nice try. The Stormcloaks have no need for the likes of you, filth" spat the guard with the raised weapon, the Khajiit couldn't see the Nord's eyes because of the helmet but if he could, he was sure there would be nothing but hatred there. What really pissed the Khajiit off though was the effect the yelling had on Aventus who was cowering behind the cat's wiry frame.

"Listen, I am Dragonborn and for the love of Mara I will shout you through the walls if I have to. Now. Let. Me. In" thundered the cat, his ears drawing back out of anger.

Sensing that the Khajiit was telling the truth, the second guard hastily stepped away from the feline and his fellow Nord, he didn't want to get in the middle of a fight with the Dovahkiin, he'd seen Ulfric shout at least twice, both times it had not ended well for those on the receiving side of the Unrelenting Force.

The first guard refused to back down however and they were on the brink of clashing when a husky and familiar voice easily defused the Khajiit's temper and caused the hostile guard to do a double-take, "Hey, what is going on here? My friend is that you?" It was Ralof, he had returned from a mission in time to catch the feline and a Stormcloak soldier about to tear each others' throats out. "What is the meaning of this?" the blond growled, demanding an explanation from the offending guard.

At the harsh bass tones of Ralof's inquiry, the guard wavered, lowering his axe with a guilty bow to his superior. "Captain! I was not aware this... Khajiit was a companion of yours, I thought he was a sneak... well... I apologize for my rash actions"

"Aye, don't let it happen again! This cat here is the Dragonborn as I'm sure he's told you. You wouldn't want to mess with him, I can promise you that" Ralof's eyes gleamed when he saw the second guard shrink down at the confirmation but grimaced when the first guard appeared to scoff. His features smoothed as he turned to the cat though and he managed to crack a smile for his friend. "Why don't we talk somewhere warmer?" he suggested, his usual charm showing through.

The Khajiit purred in appreciation and he, Ralof and a shy Aventus snubbed the guards at the door to head back to the deserted house for a friendly chat, none of them noticing as the first guard scurried off into the castle.

"Cat, there is a child following us" said the blond in a hushed voice, he was subtly glancing over his shoulder as they walked to see the Imperial boy keeping pace a few lengths behind.

"Yeah he's with me" the Dragonborn meowed back in a normal speaking volume. He spotted the perplexed look on Ralof's face straightaway so he added with a grin, "It's a long story".

The blond huffed, "With you it always is"

* * *

Ralof liked to think of himself as a well-composed, polite and suave captain of the Stormcloak rebellion but as soon as the Khajiit finished his tale of adventuring through the city to end up tumbling through the Imperial boy's roof, the Nord lost it. He was holding his sides from the pain of laughing. The man had a deep thrumming laugh too that came from his very belly and lungs and it took a lot of effort to keep it under wraps when he saw the cat's lack of humor about the whole thing. To save Aventus from more prying questions, the Khajiit had abstained from telling his friend about the Dark Brotherhood situation which was too complicated to explain anyway.

After the blond had had his fun, he graciously offered to help with the repairs to the Dragonborn's enthusiastic approval and to Lydia's less-than ecstatic agreement. With an impressive leap, Ralof was on the roof in no time and he and the housecarl buckled down to work. Minus the few unsuccessful attempts at conversation made by the captain, they were silent, passing nails and tools to each other without needing to ask, they made an oddly effective pair.

"Careful he doesn't elope with your wife" Aventus chirped after an hour of staying quiet. He'd gotten another sweet roll for himself, thankful for the high metabolism of youth.

"She is not my wife!" roared the Khajiit, surging up from the bench where he'd laid relishing in the sun's rays. For some reason, the Dragonborn had the sudden urge to read up on construction and renovation or, if that took too much effort, he considered just pushing Ralof off the roof. _Stupid handsome Nords... _

Chapter End.

**AN: A whole lot of nothing happened in this chapter. I promise the next one will... might be more exciting.**

**Thanks for reading and for the reviews, I do read every single one even if I don't reply in the reviews section. **

**Higekimaru: I will be taking your advice because I also feel that my writing can be plodding at times.**

**So to whoever is interested, I am looking for a beta reader. Just send me a PM and I will check out some of your work and your beta profile. **

**I think that's it...**


	13. The Bear King

**Chapter Thirteen: The Bear King**

The roof was completed that evening in the orange glow of the setting sun and though it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of repair jobs, it would stand against rain and snow and foolish cats. To celebrate, Ralof invited the Dragonborn, the housecarl and the Imperial to a feast but not at Candlehearth Hall as they'd expected. Instead, the Stormcloak ushered his companions away from the inn and onto an uneven path into the Grey Quarter.

"Uh, Ralof are you sure we should be here?" the Khajiit murmured, keeping his voice low and doing his best to avoid visual contact with the passing Dunmer who were eying the group curiously, especially the two Nords. Aventus had resumed a shy position, holding onto the cat's tunic as they wandered the streets which were getting more dilapidated the further they went into the quarter.

Ralof put on his most dashing smile but didn't say a word, he just kept on leading the way and, before long, the small band found themselves standing outside a craggy three-story building. It was as ramshackle as the rest of the structures in that part of the city and the tattered flags hanging from its walls were so faded and full of holes, there was no way of knowing what had been written on them. The only legible sign was the one nailed to the wooden entrance.

"New Guh...geh... Gnisis Cornerclub? What's a corner club?" asked the cat, his tail twitching in reaction to the wintery night air.

"My Thane the 'G' is silent" Lydia offered, she was exhausted and needed a drink, it didn't matter whether it was a corner club or a dingy shack in the Jarl's backyard. Her Thane wasn't impressed.

"It's a tavern, my friend and they serve the best drinks in the city" Ralof replied. He heaved the door open and held it so his companions could enter into the encompassing warmth of the cooking fires and revel in the tantalizing smell of food and mead.

They couldn't help feeling out of place among the exclusively Dunmer population of the tavern but they were able to settle around a large table and let Ralof do all the talking. The proprietor was a narrow-faced elf named Ambarys and he recognized the Stormcloak though that didn't seem to thaw his spiteful demeanor in the slightest. He asked them for their orders with a hint of venom and then left the group to their business. There were a half-dozen other customers in the main lounge with them but they remained in their own parties away from the strangers.

Out of nervousness, the Khajiit emptied his first mug in five seconds flat but he relaxed once his salmon dinner arrived, enough to glare at Aventus when the boy had sneakily reached for a flagon of mead. "Kid you've got cider, cider is much tastier than mead" the Dragonborn said, unconvincingly. The boy groaned then turned to the housecarl with an imploring look, hoping to smuggle some alcohol off her. She raised a thin eyebrow at him and drained her ale. An obvious no.

"Hah, must you two be so cruel, the poor boy wants a drink! Is this a celebration or not?" Ralof boomed, pouring half the contents of his pint into an earthenware cup for the child. The Imperial grinned appreciatively and took a long sip.

He spat the amber beverage out a second later, showering the Khajiit with the burning fluid and causing Ralof to double-over in fits of laughter. It didn't take long for the other patrons to become disgruntled with the Nord's racket and a few were already shooting dirty looks at the group.

Wary of the attention, Lydia kicked Ralof from underneath the table, effectively ending his uproar as the captain winced, steeping the tavern in an equable quiet once again. The Dragonborn exhaled in relief, tossing a thankful nod at his housecarl. "Perhaps this was a bad idea. We should leave" Lydia suggested, darkly.

Ralof remained upbeat however, even with the pain in his shin, "Calm yourself, these Grey-skins know who I am, they would not dare attack for fear of Ulfric's wrath" he assured.

"Oh right, I was meaning to talk to Ulfric about this … Grey Quarter situation" the Dragonborn piped in, wiping the mead and spit from his face with a dirty cloth he'd found lying on the table, it was a cleaning rag and it smelt of stale drink and grease. "It just seems wrong, don't you think Ralof, keeping everyone separated and all?"

The Stormcloak stared at his friend like the cat had sprouted dragon wings, "Gods, you're really asking me that question? Here?" he spluttered, his charm failing him for once. His friend gazed back with surprise.

"Is that your way of saying you agree with Ulfric?" the cat mewed, he hadn't even considered that possibility, Ralof and discrimination did not go together in his mind, the Nord had saved him from Alduin for gods' sake and that was when they were strangers.

He didn't get an answer right away, Ambarys had appeared to retrieve their plates and drop off more mead which the Khajiit graciously guzzled. When the blond still hadn't replied after the cat finished his second mug, the Dragonborn took the silence as answer enough.

"And what about me? Is the only reason I'm allowed into this city, allowed to be your friend, because I'm the Dragonborn?" he hiccuped, not sure if it was because he wanted to cry or because he'd had too much to drink. Either way, he was beginning to feel an ache in his stomach.

Ralof appeared to have had the same idea as the Khajiit as he was sipping as much ale as he could before speaking, his face drawn, "Cat, I can promise you, I am your friend for you and your hair-brained ways alone, not for your role as hero" the Nord said, lowering his bottle so he could look the Dragonborn full in the face. He saw his feline friend smile and he beamed back for a second then grew serious again, "But I would be lying if I said the same for the people of Windhelm. I'm afraid the reason you are allowed within the walls is not your title, at least, not the one you would think"

"What?" the cat asked, puzzled, he wasn't aware he had another title, 'Dovahkiin' was already more than he could handle. _Maybe they think I'm a Greybeard? I mean I completed their test but I'm still hardly qualified, I don't even have a beard. _

Clearly, the Khajiit needed someone to spell everything out for him and Ralof was about to explain but Lydia beat him to it, slamming her mug down in front of the captain when he tried to speak. "It's because you are a Thane and I am your housecarl" she grimaced, glaring at the blond for having brought up the topic.

The poor Dragonborn only grew more confused, "And what difference does that make?" he asked. Thanes were privileged, sure, but they were chosen by hold. Being Thane of Whiterun did not automatically make him Thane of Windhelm or any other city, it didn't add up.

At least, not with his line of thinking. Ralof knew exactly what was going on and he was nodding to encourage the housecarl to continue and she did, hesitantly, "My Thane, you are a Khajiit and I am a Nord. We have entered every town and city **together**, ever since the beginning and not once has a guard interfered" She stopped again because she saw the torch finally flickering to life in her Thane's ice-block of a head.

The cat was horror-struck. "Aye, it's true. A Khajiit wandering through the city alone is trouble. A Khajiit escorted by a Nord, well, that's business" Ralof said when the Khajiit could not find the words. There was a definite negative connotation in the way the captain said 'business' and the Dragonborn caught it immediately.

"So... so everyone just assumes I'm some sort of pet!?" the Khajiit squealed, his fur bristling. His friends nodded, even Aventus though the boy was too in shock from the bitter drink to actually comprehend what was happening. "That's... that's... UNBELIEVABLE" the cat cried. He held his head as if he was afraid it would explode, it definitely felt like a possibility given the pressure that was building behind his eyeballs. He vaguely sensed a hand extending to help him but he shrank away without caring who it was and scrambled to the door of the tavern.

Everyone in the Gnisis Cornerclub was soon watching as the Dragonborn pushed into the snowy night, his fur blowing back as the wind rushed to meet him. He turned around one more time to see Ralof, Lydia and Aventus were standing at their table, none of them making a move to stop him but all with astonished expressions on their pale faces.

"Ralof!" the Khajiit shouted over the din of the gales, his teeth chattering slightly as the cold seeped into his fur. "You're going to take me to see Ulfric tomorrow, I have a score to settle with him!" he hissed. He saw the captain's mouth open to protest but he left anyway, slamming the door behind him without needing an answer.

With the Dragonborn gone, the tavern became deathly quiet and every pair of crimson eyes fell on the strange group. "Ulfric? Is he serious?" Ralof asked, glancing sideways at the housecarl. He felt like any more of a movement would set the Dunmer off.

Lydia didn't share his concern. She shrugged.

* * *

The Khajiit was serious and the following morning saw the mismatched group outside in the icy courtyard of the Palace of the Kings, not one of them entirely sure what they were doing there.

"Ralof, get us inside" the cat growled. He kept his eyes on the tall doors, worried that if he looked away even for a second, he would lose all desire to follow through with his resolution.

His friend had actually been hoping for that to happen but, true to his word, the Khajiit had woken up early to make sure Ralof honored their agreement, though it hadn't been much of an agreement now that the Stormcloak thought back to it. "Are you sure about this? The Jarl has little patience for naysayers, the bear even less" the captain reasoned but the cat's resolve was strong.

"I've made up my mind and I'm sure Ulfric would be more than happy to listen to the concerns of the Dovahkiin" replied the stubborn feline. With a resigned sigh, the blond stepped forward and waved the guards aside. They were different officers from the day before but the two guards had the exact same reaction to the Khajiit as their predecessors, one of distaste. Faltering slightly at the aura of hostility, the cat gulped but walked through the doors all the same, when something hit him, "Wait... did you say **bear**?"

There was indeed a bear in the cold throne room of the Jarl's castle and his name was Galmar Stone-Fist, second in command of the Stormcloak army. He wasn't really a bear of course, the Khajiit only thought so because of the greying Nord's bear-skin armor, not that it made too much of a difference, Galmar couldn't have been scarier if he was a bear. _Maybe this was a bad idea..._

Upon laying eyes on the strange troupe, the commander furrowed a heavy brow, his attention split between the Stormcloak captain and the jittery Khajiit, "Ralof? Why are these people here? Don't tell me they wish to join our cause" Galmar scoffed. "Is... is that a child?" he asked more alarmingly, his gaze falling on Aventus who clung closer to the cat's armor.

Ralof groaned, "No Galmar, the Dragonborn only wishes to speak with Ulfric. As for the child, that is a long story that I would loathe to bring up again"

The commander's eyes widened, whether in shock or suspicion the cat couldn't tell, "The Dragonborn? What, the woman?" asked the bear, carelessly pointing to the housecarl.

_What a surprise, _the Khajiit thought, bitterly. Brushing his fur back and keeping his tail steady to appear more presentable, he was about to clear up the misunderstanding when a golden-haired Nord interrupted, his voice smooth as wax on a candle, "Galmar, Ralof, why is it I am the last to know of our guests? And such an important one at that" he seethed, sauntering from the doorway of the war room.

_Ulfric_, there was no doubt in the Dragonborn's mind. It wasn't just the man's authoritative voice or his fancy fur-trimmed cloak or his well-kept beard, it was the man's striking eyes and confident posture, as if the Nord thought himself invincible. He was clearly a leader._ Weird, it's like I've met him before... the Bear King.. _

The feeling seemed to be mutual as a glimmer of recognition flashed in the Jarl's dark eyes as he passed the Khajiit to take a seat on the throne. Neither of them were listening as Ralof explained why they had all come to the castle and by the time the captain was finished, the Khajiit hadn't absorbed a word. Something else was nagging at him, an overwhelming sense that he'd forgotten something. Something vital_. Uh oh. _

"You... Ulfric Stormcloak, you didn't happen to be in Helgen when the dragon attacked, I mean, you weren't one of the prisoners were you?" the cat was almost afraid to ask. Galmar looked ready to scold the Khajiit for referring to the Jarl so casually but Ulfric waved him away.

"Yes I was. From what I can remember, you and Ralof escaped together, correct?" the bear king recalled, easily.

Swallowing hard, the cat nodded, his eyes darting to Ralof who didn't have any idea where the conversation was heading. "Yeah your captain is a great man, he saved me ..." the Khajiit wanted to say more but he lost the words while he was trying to gauge the Jarl's memory of the event. He didn't know if it was a Nord thing or a learned thing but Ulfric appeared to have the same ability as Lydia, he could look calm but absolutely deadly at the same time. _Oh dear gods he knows._

"From what I can remember," Ulfric grimaced, drawing the words out to unnerve the already nervous Dragonborn now that they were on the same page, "you're the fool who decided to use me as a... what would you call it, a landing pad?"

The Khajiit flinched because right as the words left the Jarl's mouth, every man, woman and child turned to stare at the guilty Dragonborn with unmistakable horror in their eyes. "To be fair," the cat spluttered before the blaming could start, "there was a lot of fire and I needed to get out of the tower and it was really high up and your coat looked so soft and I know people say cats always land on their feet but that's s-sstupid" he fizzled near the end when he realized there was no use reasoning with the Jarl. "Can we just talk leader-to-leader about this whole segregation fiasco and forget the rest of it?" he asked as a last ditch effort.

"Get out" the bear growled.

* * *

The weather had worsened and it was snowing in curtains. Though it was beautiful to behold, it was freezing.

"You know what the worst part is?" the Khajiit sighed as he leaned with his forehead pressed to the icy walls of the palace courtyard. Ralof was standing nearby, pinching the bridge of his nose in distress while Aventus sat on the steps, shivering. Lydia was amused but didn't show it and stood quietly beside her Thane instead. None of them said anything. "The worst part is," the cat drawled anyway, "I screwed up before I even had the chance to screw up and I wasn't going to this time. I knew what I wanted to say... I know what I stand for..."

"You sat on the Jarl!" the captain muttered suddenly. He raised a finger to silence the Khajiit before he could butt in, "There is no getting around this, my friend, you have disgraced the leader of the Stormcloaks and now he's going to punish me for associating with you" the blond snarled. It looked like there was more he wanted to say but he held himself back and pinched his nose again, "You know what, you should leave. No... yes, you should go before Ulfric decides to pursue this matter further" grumbled Ralof through his teeth, "I will make sure the boy is cared for" he added as an afterthought.

The cat was a little stunned by his friend's frenetic behavior but he decided to leave amicably and offered his paw for his friend to shake which the Nord did without making eye contact. "It was good seeing you Ralof and thanks for everything. Maybe we'll meet again someday" He then turned to Aventus to say goodbye, his mellow facade fading, "Take care of yourself, alright kid? I'll try not to destroy your house next time I visit" He bent down to give the Imperial a hug, feeling a rush of sadness when the boy buried his face in the cat's fur. "Remember to stay strong and watch out for shadows" the Dragonborn whispered only for Aventus to hear. He felt the child's head move up and down in a nod and he almost grinned.

* * *

_It took over a day for the grey Khajiit to die from the Shadow Adder bite and when he had passed, Darko was surprised to find that Imogen was used to it. _

_And he couldn't understand why the medicine hadn't worked. Jyric told him that there was no guarantee with any cure, that there was always a possibility that things would go wrong. The young cat had frowned at that, "It doesn't make sense though, your mamma got all the right ingredients... right?"_

_The Breton shrugged, "Yeah but that's not enough sometimes" he replied. The two boys were sitting at the edge of a small pond and Jyric tossed another rock into the water, watching as it skipped twice then plummeted out of sight. The Khajiit threw his own rock but it sank to the bottom with a splash and a chuckle from the Breton. _

"_How's it not enough?" Darko asked incredulously, scrunching his fuzzy face into a concentrated stare. He aimed his next stone higher and farther then let it fly. Again his rock simply crashed through the still water and hit the pond floor with the cat whipping his tail in frustration. _

"_It simply isn't. Sometimes you can do everything right and perfect and things will still go wrong. It's just the way things are" Jyric skipped another stone, this one going further than the last. "You can't save everyone, Darko, there has to be a balance" _

"_A balance?" The Khajiit wondered then cheered when his final stone skipped once before falling away. He focused entirely on his wise friend after that, pride radiating from his petite form. _

"_You know, like light and dark, predator and prey, big and small, success and failure" On his final stone, Jyric gave the rock a skilled heave, both his and the Khajiit's eyes following the curve of the stone until it slipped into the water without a single bounce and the most minute of splashes. "Heroes and villains" he added for effect, crouching to search for more pebbles. "That's sort of what makes life exciting, you never know who will win"_

* * *

The carriage the Khajiit and his housecarl were taking from Windhelm to Whiterun was driven by a young, plucky Nord with an equally plucky name, Alfarinn. There wasn't any room for silence on his carriage, the hazel-haired man made sure of that by bringing up conversations about cities, horses and even his lady back home. They could hardly be called conversations however, since Alfarinn did the majority of the talking. If it had been any other day, the Khajiit probably would've appreciated the driver's liveliness but he was too worn-out from his failure with the Jarl and the noise only made him antsy. _At least he isn't blind... though I did like the old guy_, thought the Dragonborn, reminiscing about his second wagon ride in Skyrim.

"So I said, wow time really does fly doesn't it? And it does! It really does" Alfarinn was saying, almost like he was reading the cat's mind. _Creepy..._

Meanwhile Lydia was struggling to keep herself from strangling the younger Nord, which was apparent from how tense her posture was, also she didn't look especially thrilled. The Khajiit perked up somewhat at his housecarl's suffering, chortling quietly, "Where do they find these drivers eh? They're so... odd" He was pleased when the housecarl smirked at his comment.

"What brings you love birds out to Windhelm anyway? I must admit I've never seen a Nord and a Khajiit together before, oh but I do think you two are adorable" the driver mused, he had to lead the horses around a bend so he didn't see the Nord's face grow scarlet or the Khajiit's fur stand on end. _I suppose 'husband' is better than 'pet' but still..._

"Why does everyone think we're married?" whispered the cat more to himself than to the housecarl but she heard him anyway.

"Wait this has happened before?" Lydia rasped, barely containing her voice to a hush.

_Oh ...right..._ "Heh, you know when you were fixing Aventus' roof? I don't know where the kid got the idea but he also thought we were … uh" the embarrassed Khajiit held out his paw, closing all except his index and middle fingers then he pressed those digits together in a sign of unity.

"And what did you tell him?"

"No of course! But you know him... the brat probably still thinks I'm secretly a member of the Dark Brotherhood"

"Oh the Dark Brotherhood! I've heard of them, aren't they that gentleman's club for men seeking other men? Oops, does your wife know about this?" Alfarinn interrupted, a judgmental scowl on his cheeky face. "I don't care how handsome those other men are, cheating is for scoundrels, you hear?"

There was no use sulking after that statement so the Dragonborn played along, shouting, "Loud and clear Alfarinn! Lydia my darling, I'm sorry, I promise I won't ever covet another gentleman again" There was hooting from the front seat and the Khajiit smiled broadly, his mood lifting.

Lydia was shocked for a second but she quickly caught on to the act and she groaned. "I'm happy to see you're smiling again but if you call me darling one more time I will push you out of this carriage"

"Whatever you say my sweet juniper berry pie"

* * *

Alfarinn was decent enough to stop the carriage so the Khajiit could catch up and be seated again. The cat's fur was dirt-laden and bedraggled from the rolling fall but he didn't dare complain.

It wasn't long after that 'accident' when the carriage halted outside Whiterun stables and the duo said their farewells to Alfarinn who yipped then sped the coach away into the night, like a jolly specter. The drivers in Skyrim were certainly weird but they were good people and the Khajiit would miss the cheery Nord's company. That didn't mean he didn't miss Algernon though, because he had and he made a great show of embracing and petting the horse after the stable hand had brought the dark animal out. Algernon was just as lazy and out of it as the day the Dragonborn had purchased him and the cat wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, horses weren't allowed within the walls so the Khajiit was forced to leave Algernon for an extra day in order to check in with Farengar about the Dragonstone. _Maybe I should talk to Jarl Balgruuf about horse segregation, _he thought in dark humor as Algernon flapped his gums hungrily. The Khajiit sighed. "I'll bring you a big bag of oats when I return okay bud? Then we're all going to Ivarstead together!" he promised, giving the animal one more pat on the muzzle before ambling up the steps after his housecarl.

"Perhaps you should marry the horse" Lydia mumbled, still sore from the offbeat wagon ride.

"Maybe I should, I'm sure Algernon wouldn't shove me out of a moving carriage" retorted the Khajiit, rubbing at the bruise that had formed on his backside from his unfortunate landing.

"I did warn you" the housecarl groused, she was puzzled to see her Thane had started laughing. "What?"

The Dragonborn snickered then replied, "Remember when you said that I'd never called you a fruit and you wouldn't be angry if I did? I kinda did call you a fruit, didn't I? And you did get angry. I was right" he chuckled again.

"I think you might have missed the point of that conversation, my Thane" but the cat wasn't listening.

Chapter End.

**AN: This chapter was a nightmare to get right. First Darko was too out of character and then it got preachy... so I decided to steer clear of all the political jazz and just write something fun. **

**You can say what you want about Ulfric but you have to admit he has an amazing voice actor. I could listen to him talk all day...**

**Also, my interpretation of the carriage drivers is shallowly based on how they look and the picture of Alfarinn in the wiki made me think he would be a sassy guy. **


	14. Home for the After

**Chapter Fourteen: Home for the After**

Whiterun was exactly as the Khajiit had left it, same hardy houses with their brick exteriors and their golden-tiled roofs, same blacksmith toiling away in front of the same hot forge, same guards with their unnecessary remarks. For whatever reason, maybe because this was the one place he kept coming back to, the Khajiit had adopted Whiterun as his home and simply seeing the city gave the cat peace of mind.

He hated the stairs to Dragonsreach though, it felt worse than the 7000 steps. He knew there were no mute elders on the other side, the hold had a snobby steward, a blunt court wizard and a consistently irritated Dunmer instead and though the Jarl was a decent man, the Khajiit's interest in speaking with high-authority figures had long expired since his debacle with Ulfric.

Not that the Dragonborn had much choice, the minute he'd opened the doors to the throne room, Balgruuf had called him and Lydia over for an update on their current state of affairs. As per usual, Irileth was a living statue on the Jarl's left, her blood-red eyes not letting a single movement go unnoticed.

They didn't even get to visit Farengar until after they'd eaten dinner at the long table in the midst of the Jarl and his court which meant Irileth, Proventus and someone the cat hadn't met, the Jarl's brother Hrongar. The Khajiit had been uneasy with the idea of supping with the Dunmer breathing down his neck but he didn't have much choice in that either. He only wished he hadn't drank so much or chosen Ulfric as the topic of the evening.

"You're a mad man! You really thought that arrogant Stormcloak would listen to you? Did you even consider what Ulfric could achieve with you by his side or, gods forbid, as his captive?" the steward whined, unable to see the humor in the Khajiit's tale.

"Don't listen to him Dragonborn, Proventus has always been a coward. For even attempting to stand up to that fool Ulfric, you deserve praise. For sitting on him, well, that's worthy of song" Hrongar chided, raising his mug and motioning for the shy Khajiit to do the same. They bumped goblets, bronze mead spilling over the rim of the cat's cup as they drank, taking massive gulps until both their mugs were empty. Things got fuzzy after that.

"Has Ulfric made his demands known?" _Woah, Irileth you're speaking all wobbly._

"Ah yes, you have been gone for the past few days so you wouldn't know. Well, one of the Stormcloak captains delivered Ulfric's war ax to our Jarl, personally" _Hah you're balding... balding, Proventus Avenicci is balding. Gods even your name is pretentious. _

"But that means..." _Yer a bitch, Irileth, I wish I could say it but I'd get my head chopped off._

"Indeed, Ulfric has issued his ultimatum" _An' you, yer pretty good actually, I like you. I like your beard and how blond and groomed it is... nice. Good job Balgruuf. The Dragonborn approves. _The Khajiit banged his cup down on the table emphatically, his drunkenness made apparent to the Jarl and Lydia who was sitting next to the cat with a dumbfounded expression on her face while everyone else at the table went on with their discussion.

"I'll hazard a guess, my Jarl you returned the ax?" grumbled the Dunmer. Balgruuf nodded.

"Of course he returned it! My brother would never bend his knee to a bear who calls himself king" _Hrongar, I like you too, you sort of look like Balgruuf but I like how yer beard is tied... it's fancy like... a lady's braid. _

"I trust you all know what comes next..." the Jarl sighed with a troubled glance at each of his subjects, "Whiterun will soon be at war"

His words would have had more weight had the Khajiit not chosen the following pause to clink two pieces of silverware together, a stupid grin spreading across his feline face. _Spoon, heh, spoon._

"My Thane what is the matter? You seem intoxicated" Lydia murmured over the awkward quiet. She knew he was in fact, pissed drunk but she thought it was more polite to ask. The cat didn't respond, too busy playing with the cutlery he'd gathered from around the table. It wasn't until the housecarl physically spun the Khajiit to face her did he answer.

"Woah, yeah thas cause I **am** toxic-tox- why do you use such big words? Sho hard to say..." the Khajiit hiccuped before toppling forward into the Nord's arms. From across the table, Proventus creased his brows at them, slowly lowering his forkful of grilled leeks to stare.

"My Jarl, if you would excuse me and... my Thane, we need to speak with Farengar" Lydia barely managed to gasp out when the Khajiit squeezed her tighter, his muzzle embedded in her hair.

"You shmell nice... like smoke and spices" the cat meowed sleepily, all eyes were on him now and Irileth had relaxed back in her seat, thoroughly enjoying the scene as it panned out in its humiliating glory.

Jarl Balgruuf chuckled however, glad for the distraction, "Go ahead Lydia, I give you and the Dragonborn leave. Farengar should be in his study if I'm not mistaken" there was a twinkle in his eyes as he said this and the Khajiit's housecarl could not have been more thankful. Irileth, on the other hand, was less than satisfied with the Jarl's lax treatment of the Dragonborn once again and she would be sure to rant his ear off about it later.

* * *

The Khajiit was lifted to his feet by his housecarl, almost falling asleep on her shoulder as she half-carried him to the mage's room and only jolting awake when the Nord dropped him into a chair with little consideration for his tender bottom. Farengar Secret-Fire was busily scribbling on a piece of parchment when he was shocked out of his work by the sound of the Dragonborn belching.

"By the Eight, Lydia, what were you thinking? He's lucky to be conscious! If he vomits on my scrolls..." the mage griped, carefully stashing his recent writings onto a shelf. He made a quick stop to the alchemy table stationed in his room as Lydia watched on in slight curiosity.

To the uneducated eye, the amenities on the round desk looked to be nothing more than strangely shaped glass containers but to a mage, these twisted tubes and flasks were the instruments essential in creating potions. The green glow that emanated from the table's flat surface was where the concoctions were poured after the small furnace heated and stirred the powdered ingredients and that was where Farengar placed a small beaker after having funneled a handful of crushed herbs and roots into the tubes. A viscous, pink liquid dripped from the end of the largest container and the mage collected every drop of the potion before carefully shuffling back to his desk where the Khajiit was dosing.

Without a word, Farengar passed his beaker to the housecarl and pointed to the Dragonborn, he mimicked pouring fluid down his gullet. Lydia obeyed with a sigh, grabbing her Thane's chin and lifting his head so he faced the towering ceilings. He struggled but before he could break free, the housecarl poured the contents of the beaker into her Thane's mouth. She then clamped the cat's jaws shut by wrapping one arm around his fuzzy head and she stayed that way until the Dragonborn begrudgingly swallowed.

It took fewer than sixty seconds for the Khajiit to calm down and realize he was no longer drunk. "That's amazing! I feel fantastic" yowled the cat in ecstasy as he was released from the Nord's hold. "What was that stuff?"

"It's an old family recipe, cures inebriation and the next-day headaches like a charm" explained the mage, beaming, "Now I'm assuming you're here to inquire about the Dragonstone?" The Khajiit nodded emphatically, still blown away by the magic potion. "I must say, it wasn't easy repairing..." there was a lot of strain on the last word as the wizard lifted the roughly intact Dragonstone onto the desk, dropping it with a crash that sent a soul gem bouncing to the floor, "... the stone but I managed it. Somehow"

"So what did you find out?" asked the Dragonborn, there was much to be desired from the mage's crude reconstruction of the pieces but the cat couldn't complain, it was his fault the stone was crumbled in the first place.

Farengar took a second to catch his breath, manual labor was not something he was used to and his heavy, hooded robe was not the best choice of attire for such an activity. Steadily, he recovered and sat down in the seat opposite to the Khajiit, reaching down to extract a large scroll from a compartment beneath his desk. Lydia stood closer as the mage unrolled the parchment to reveal his translations of the dragon text. "As you can see, the stone is a flat, pentagonal shape with writing on one side and..." he gave an imploring nod up to the housecarl and she groaned, picking up the stone and flipping it so the Dragonborn could see what was on the other side.

"A map?" wondered the Khajiit as he poked at the carefully carved ridges of a mountain range on the grey tablet.

"Not just any map, a map of dragon burial sites! See the small shapes etched into the stone?" Farengar asked, placing his finger on a four-pointed star near the location the Dragonborn was prodding at. "That is a dragon burial ground"

"Wait, we just came back from a dragon burial place, it was at Kynesgrove. Did you know that dragons are resurrecting each other? Our friend Delph..." however it was obvious Farengar was no longer listening to the Dragonborn. Apparently, something that had been said was rubbing the mage the wrong way because he looked like he'd swallowed a spider.

"Then it's true. Alduin is back" the wizard moaned, turning his gaze to the housecarl a second time. Lydia lifted the stone with little effort and spun it so the text was facing towards them again then she plopped the stone back onto the desk, careening another soul gem off the sagging table. On top of the scratchy writing, Farengar placed his translations, his slender face white as milk.

'HERE LIE OUR

FALLEN LORDS

UNTIL POWER OF

ALDUIN REVIVES'

"Alduin? That must be the black dragon I keep bumping into. Uh, Farengar are you okay? Maybe you should mix some of that remedy for yourself" suggested the cat but the mage just shook his head.

"Naive as always! Don't you see? We're doomed, Skyrim is doomed, if Alduin has returned, then it is the end of days!" Farengar cried, his panic reaching a boiling point. "There's no hope so long as that dragon lives, not even the Dragonborn can save us now" he raved.

The Dragonborn gulped, audibly.

* * *

It didn't feel right leaving the court mage in such a sorry state but the Khajiit knew they had to get moving, the Greybeards had been waiting for the horn for days and the Dragonborn had no intention of making them wait any longer. As promised, the cat brought Algernon a bag of oats from the local farmers after visiting the general store to sell off some loot he'd found in Ustengrav. The horse eagerly munched on the treat and when he'd finished, the animal was more than happy to let the Khajiit and the housecarl ride.

The day was fair with an overcast sky and sturdy winds but it wasn't so cold that it would be uncomfortable riding the whole way to Ivarstead. Most of the journey was through the flat lands anyway and the cat had improved his driving technique since the first time so that even the heavily wooded areas weren't as threatening. Lydia was glad, more often than not she'd feared an elusive branch would decapitate her or at the very least knock her off the horse's back. None of that ever happened of course but she had acquired her fair share of splinters. And the ride was still a rocky one.

"Hey you think what Farengar said was true? Is Alduin really that scary?" the Khajiit shouted above the rapid thudding of hooves. His fur was a mess of dark needles.

"I can't say my Thane, Farengar has always been... eccentric" Lydia growled, keeping her head down against the wind. The horse eventually slowed to bank towards the mountain and the housecarl shakily eased her death-grip on the saddle, reveling in the shade of the grand peaks and the yellow-green grass that grew close to the rocks.

"Well I hope he's wrong" mewed the cat with a quick yank on the reins.

Algernon was steadily led to a halt near what looked to be a cave and the Khajiit dismounted with the housecarl following suit, her steel armor anchoring her jump. They let the horse rest as they sat in the midst of the Throat of the World, the Khajiit whistling in awe. From his view on the ground, the mountain seemed unending, it just rose into the clouds, layers and layers of rock formed over gods knew how many lifetimes of which the Dragonborn would be but a flicker. It was beautifully terrifying.

"Oi, guess what?" he meowed finally when the spectacle wasn't enough to keep his attention. He scooted to face his housecarl who was sitting next to him as he lay propped against the mountain.

"What?" she asked, glancing with her eyes but not moving her head to see her Thane. They were in bear territory and the last thing they needed was for one to come bursting through the brush unexpectedly.

"I'm thinking of buying a house in Whiterun. It's practically our headquarters anyway and it seems stupid to always be staying at the inn" he continued. The housecarl gaped and immediately abandoned her watch to stare directly at the Khajiit, trying and failing to hide her surprise. "We'll save up some gold and this way you'll have somewhere to live too. I mean Dragonsreach is great but it's not home" the cat spluttered, flushing red from the way the Nord was leering at him.

"I... I think that's a good idea my Thane" Lydia admitted, though she seemed troubled. The Dragonborn thought it was wiser not to ask.

"Yeah we'll have our own kitchen and furniture and we have to get a huge bookcase because after all this Jyric and Alduin business is done, I am going to read anything I can get my paws on. You can have whatever you want for your room too!" he cried excitedly, hoping his enthusiasm would carry over to the Nord.

His housecarl merely nodded.

* * *

That night the Khajiit dreamed of shadowy figures dancing wildly around the remnants of a city and of fire falling from the sky and the black dragon watching over all of it, its terrible roar shaking the earth, its flames devouring Nirn. He woke squirming and panting, sweat plastering his fur to his skin as he gasped for breath. It was so real, he could taste the smog and the ash and when he wasn't desperately guzzling air, he could still hear the dragon's cry. _Alduin... gods Jyric where are you? You'd know how to deal with this Dovahkiin stuff,_ he thought with a hint of sadness.

Shakily, the Dragonborn stood, dressed then tumbled out of his shelter, his eyelids drooping for sleep but he knew he wouldn't be getting anymore that day.

His housecarl was seated near the mountain side with her ax laid across her lap, her eyes were closed in rest yet at the crackle of leaves underfoot, she was up, alert and with her weapon at the ready. "Watch it sabrecat, wouldn't want to kill a great hero would you?" the Khajiit joked, stepping out from the cover of his tent.

"I wouldn't call you a hero" Lydia grumbled, clasping her ax to her belt when she recognized the voice and her Thane's lanky form in the violet dawn, "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

"Bad dream" the cat answered simply, sliding down to sit with his legs outstretched beside the Nord. Lydia quickly scanned the plains for suspicious movement but she didn't notice anything amongst the sparse foliage or low hills so she relaxed and lowered down to her Thane's level. "Okay so how about, after the Greybeards, we do some small jobs around Whiterun. I talked to Proventus before we left, he said there was a house available for 5000 septims"

"And Delphine's mission?" the housecarl asked, remembering the promise her Thane had made to check in with the Blade as soon as they left High Hrothgar.

"To be honest, I kinda want a break from being Dragonborn. Only til we get the house which shouldn't take too long" he replied softly, "And Jyric... I've got my map and its got all the major holds marked on it. I thought we could explore Skyrim for a bit, visit the cities and then go see Delphine"

"My Thane..." Lydia wanted to ask about the Khajiit's sudden longing for a house but he was already uncomfortable and she didn't want to make things worse by digging deeper so she asked him another question she'd been curious to have answered, "Why didn't you agree to become a werewolf?"

The Khajiit smiled toothily,he hadn't thought Lydia was one to care for casual questions or for obviously changing the subject. "Because I'm sure if my mom ever found out I could turn into a dog, she'd kill me and skin my pelt for a rug" He laughed and she grinned, faintly. "Oh that reminds me, I'm going to invite my mother to stay with us, you know, in the house. I think she'd like Skyrim" Lydia made a face like it was a bad idea and the Dragonborn laughed again, "She's a tough lady plus she's got the Dovahkiin for a son and you for a housecarl, add in Jyric the awesome mage and what could possibly stand in our way?"

* * *

In Ivarstead that morning, the Khajiit bumped into an older gentleman by the name of Klimmek who was griping about climbing the steps. The Nord was in charge of delivering food to the Greybeards but his back had been disagreeing with him ever since he'd past his fortieth year and it made the journey a harsh one. He offered the adventurers 1000 septims for carrying the bag of supplies up the mountain in his place and the Dragonborn had leaped at the chance. Of course, the one who actually had to bear the burden was Lydia. As luck would have it, Klimmek also knew one of the owners of the nearby Fellstar Farm and he'd convinced her to take care of Algernon while the Dragonborn was gone and for that the cat was eternally grateful.

In record time, the Khajiit and his housecarl started their trek up the beaten steps while the sun bathed them in warm rays. True the snow on the mountains never really melted but thanks to the way the flakes sparkled as the light hit them, the cat was too in awe to mind his cold feet.

None of the enemies posed a challenge to the duo as they walked, a few wolves and a solitary Ice Wraith were no match for the Khajiit's dual-wielding and the housecarl didn't even need to join in the creatures were so weak. The Dragonborn was beginning to believe the rest of the climb would be a cinch but his mind was rapidly changed the moment they hit the 3000th step.

Waiting for the travelers was a pair of Frost Trolls. Their features were identical to their brown cousins but these trolls were snowy white with longer fur and their three eyes were black as marble. The housecarl had to drop both her packs in order to fight alongside her Thane who was looking forward to a good battle. There wasn't much room on the mountain path where they were thrown into combat so that made things all the more exciting and treacherous.

Much like the first troll the Dragonborn had encountered, these trolls had a tendency to charge to close any distance, though they did seem smarter. One of the trolls had jumped mid-stampede and was attempting to crush the cat with its landing but he rolled to safety and the beast ended up smashing into the ground. The trolls were sturdy however and the hard landing didn't effect the creature at all, in fact the impact only served to make it angrier. Lydia was having similar problems with the second troll who was taking her hits like a shield wall, its thick skin acting as natural armor. When it was fed up with her barrage, it struck back, slamming blow after blow into the housecarl's shield, managing to dent the steel but it could not break the Nord's guard.

_Alright, different tactic. _The Khajiit sheathed his swords and summoned a fire spell, channeling it through his arm and casting it at his troll. Flames shot from his palm sending a torrent of biting heat at the beast and for a moment it couldn't retaliate, its screams were heard as it swiped uselessly at the cascading spell. "That all ya got?" jeered the Dragonborn at the same time that his magicka was used up. "Really!?" he barely got the word out when the troll dashed closer and gave the cat a brutal uppercut, sending his lithe form hurtling a few feet in the air to land in a heap on the rocks, his nose and mouth a bloody mess.

The troll howled and was going to finish the job when the housecarl bashed her shield into the second troll before throwing her ax at the first. An eerie song emanated from the ax as it flew through the air and whacked the unwary creature in the side of its head, not killing it but the pain did send the troll into a frenzy. It lost interest in the Khajiit and attacked the Nord, slashing at her shield recklessly.

Its kin was about to join in again but there was a shout of "Fus, Ro!" and the second troll was blown clear of the mountain and over the edge where it was no longer visible to the Dragonborn or the housecarl.

Lydia had her hands full simply protecting herself and her weapon was still lodged in the troll's skull where it was impossible to reach unless she let down her guard. She attempted to see where her Thane was but when she spotted him the Khajiit was doubled over on the ground, spitting globs of blood. So she took a chance and hammered her shield into the troll's face, dazing it enough that she could grab the ax handle and give the creature a powerful kick, freeing the steel and causing the troll to reel backwards, nearing the cliffs.

With one more swipe, the beast tried to regain its footing but it only managed to slash through the Nord's gauntlet before she sank her ax into its forehead and out again in a swift chopping motion. It toppled down into the jagged stones after that and the sound of a fleshy crunch could be heard echoing around the mountain moments later.

Panting slightly, the housecarl trotted to where her Thane was uncorking a bottle of healing potion, wincing when the Khajiit cried out at the burning sensation of liquid washing around his torn mouth. The magic healed the majority of the cat's wounds but his nose was still broken from the impact. "Lydia, I hate to ask this of you but... could you pop my nose back into place?" his voice was nasally because of the clogged blood in his nostrils and he was breathing heavily through his mouth.

The Nord grimaced, she had snapped bones back into their ligaments before but not for a Khajiit, their noses were built differently so it was understandable why she hesitated. It wasn't like she could make it worse though, his nose was bent almost to a forty-five degree angle, she might as well try. "Alright, my Thane, try to stay still" she soothed, removing her Nordic gauntlets. She placed her frigid fingers on the cat's pink nose and she felt him tremble, in cold or nervousness she couldn't tell.

"Ow!" the Dragonborn wept when the Nord tested the tissue by pressing his nose from the left then the right. She then ran her thumbs over the bridge to feel where the areas were tender while the Khajiit squealed some more. "Agh, okay do a count down or something, don't just fix it without..." but his words fell on deaf ears as with one fast and overwhelmingly painful snap, the cat's nose was wrenched back into position. "SON OF A BITCH!" he swore and sank back onto the snow, cradling his sore muzzle and rolling from side to side to counteract the spasms. He stayed in a fetal ball for a bit, his breaths slowly normalizing as he moaned.

While the cat was recovering, the Nord inspected her gear for damage. Her shield was battered and wasn't nearly as round as it should be but it was still an intimidating barrier. The gauntlet was worse off, it was scratched and there was a rift in the steel stained with blood from where the troll's claw had pierced into her arm. It was usable but she would need to fix it or get it replaced soon, as for her arm, she wrapped the gash with gauze, not wanting to waste a potion on something so trifling.

"You're not gonna turn into a were-troll if you don't get that treated, are you?" mumbled the Khajiit from his inverted view on the snow, "You know you're even prettier from this angle, you should be upside-down more often"

Lydia glowered at her Thane, green eyes clouded with annoyance, "Let's get going" she barked.

The Khajiit huffed, "I was kidding! Hey wait, help me up..." his tone was pleading when he saw that the housecarl had gathered her bags and was already walking ahead without him, the heat of her rage practically melting the ice as she stomped over it. "Fine, I'll meet you at the temple then" _Fantastic work, Darko. You are one charming man. Idiot._

Chapter End.

**AN: Another talking chapter. There really needs to be an instant cure-all for drunkenness or at least hangovers. I hope you guys are still functional after New Years... **

**Would you guys believe we're almost through the first arc of this story? Geez where does the time go? **


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